The coronavirus vaccine will not be widely available in US pharmacies until the end of February, as previously promised, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
“We will introduce the vaccine in pharmacies as part of our plan. Will it be in every pharmacy in this country according to this chronology? I don’t think so, “Dr. Rochelle Walensky told the Today Show.
“I don’t think we’ll have a vaccine at every pharmacy in this country at the end of February.”
In mid-December, Trump Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told CNBC: “I think by the end of February, by the end of March, of course, depending on the decisions of our governors, but I think we will have enough to reach the general public for administration – at CVS, Walgreens, Kroegers – by the end of February to March ”.
Walensky reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to distribute 100 million doses in the first 100 days and said it would work to speed up and smooth the production and distribution of life-saving photographs.
“After 100 days, there are still many Americans who need a vaccine, so we have to pedal to the metal to make sure we can get as much vaccine there as possible,” she said. “We recognize that this is the most immediate emergency to bring this country back to health.”
She said CDC officials have been working for weeks to ensure that “vaccine eligibility is on offer” and that there are enough medical workers at the inoculation sites.
“The whole basis of how we launch the vaccine must be based on equity and we are committed to that,” she added.
In early December, a Trump Warp Speed official said he hoped to immunize 100 million people by the end of February.
“Between mid-December and the end of February, we will potentially immunize 100 million people,” said Moncef Slaoui, the operation’s scientific adviser.
As of Thursday, the United States had administered 17.5 million doses of the vaccine, according to the CDC.