US President Joe Biden remarks before signing a “Made in America” executive order in the White House South Court Auditorium on January 25, 2021, in Washington, DC.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States could reach 1.5 million Covid-19 vaccinations a day, exceeding its previously targeted rate of 1 million a day, which was almost already met by the Trump administration.
Biden is committed to administering 100 million vaccines against the coronavirus vaccine in its first 100 days of office, at a rate of 1 million vaccines per day.
“This is my promise that we will receive 100 million vaccinations,” he said Monday. “I think with God’s grace and the goodwill of our neighbor and the chick that doesn’t get up, as the old saying goes, I think we could get to 1.5 million a day, rather than 1 million a day, but we need to meet the goal of one million a day. “
Some public health experts have criticized Biden’s commitment to administer 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days in office as too modest. When Biden took over the presidency last week, the United States was already on track to reach the required 1 million photos a day. As of Sunday, the United States has exceeded the seven-day average of 1.1 million vaccinations per day, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And with the early introduction of the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine next month, the Biden administration now says the rate of 1 million photos a day is one floor, rather than a goal. The two currently authorized vaccines, manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, require both doses to get maximum protection against the virus. The potential authorization of the JNJ single vaccine could substantially accelerate the mass effort.
But just last week, Biden rejected the idea that the target of 100 million vaccinations in 100 days could be too low from a threshold, claiming that he was told before taking office that the target could be too high.
“I find it fascinating that yesterday the press asked itself: ‘Are 100 million enough? A week before, they said, “Biden, are you crazy?” You can’t make 100 million in 100 days, “the president said on Friday. “We are, God willing, not only will we make 100 million, but we will do more than that.”
Biden said on Monday that the administration is working to increase the number of people who can administer the vaccines, increase dose production and set up more facilities for people to schedule meetings and receive their vaccinations.
“Time is of the essence,” he said. “We are trying to eliminate at least 100 million vaccinations in 100 days and move in the direction we far exceed in the next 100 days, so that we can reach the point where we reach the immunity of the herd in a country. of over 300 million people. “
His change of tone reflects comments made this weekend by White House Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served in the Trump administration. Fauci said on Sunday that Biden’s goal of 100 million doses in 100 days is not a final number.
“It’s really a floor, not a ceiling,” Fauci told CBS’s “Make the Nation.” “It will be a challenge. I think a reasonable goal has been set. We always want to do better than the goal you have set.”
With a limited amount of doses, states still ration the rescue photos, setting eligibility parameters that vary widely. The Trump administration and now the White House Biden have encouraged states to go through the eligibility stages quickly to expand the population capable of receiving vaccines.
Pressed Monday by a reporter about when the US will reach the point where anyone who wants to receive the vaccines will be able to, Biden said this spring. He added, however, that “it will be a logistical challenge that goes beyond anything we have ever tried in this country.”
“I am confident that by the summer we will be on the right track to moving towards the herd’s immunity,” he said.
But even though Biden expressed a more aggressive target for the vaccination campaign, he added on Monday that the US “will see somewhere between 600,000 and 660,000 deaths before we start turning the corner in a major way.”
And the president painted an even darker picture last week, saying “there is nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next few months.”
– CNBC Nate Rattner contributed to this report.