Washington – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Sunday that the coronavirus vaccines currently being distributed across the United States should provide “reasonable protection” against new series found in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.
“I think the existing vaccines are going to offer reasonable protection against these new variables. And we may be able to develop in a timely manner, perhaps in four or six months, a consensus pressure that will push in a lot of the differences that we see that boosters available for the fall, “Gottlieb said in an interview with” Face the Nation. “” So I think there is a reasonable chance that we will be able to stay ahead of this virus as it will. movement. “
Gottlieb said as a “rule of thumb,” it can be assumed that the vaccines will be about 20% less effective against the new strains from Brazil and South Africa. But he stressed that even with a reduction in effectiveness, “you still get very good protection” from mRNA vaccines, like the FDA-approved images from Moderna and Pfizer.
The new changes, which are circulating around the globe, were marked in the last months of 2020 and early 2021 and have been discovered in the United States ever since. The UK strain, B.1.1.7, was detected in 33 states, and the South African strain, B.1.351, was detected in two states. The Brazilian variant, P.1., Meanwhile, was found in one state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the U.S., South Florida and southern California have emerged as hot spots for UK snoring, which public health officials say is more contagious. In South Florida, the new strain accounts for between 5% and 10% of diseases, and in southern California, about 5% of diseases are like the UK strain. But for the rest of the country, Gottlieb said the variability is less than 1% of diseases.
“I think for most across the country, it’s probably too small, too late,” he said. “We may be able to get ahead with our vaccines and the seasonal impact of warming weather.”
The new coronavirus strains have reinforced the need to accelerate the speed of vaccine circulation, and the Biden administration has taken steps to get more pictures into American arms faster, including by sending doses directly to pharmacies.
Gottlieb said the new administration has “made significant progress” with vaccine circulation, delivering as many as 2 million vaccines on some days. He expected that by the end of March, 250 million vaccines would be brought to market if the single-dose coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson was approved for emergency use by the FDA, with another 100 million vaccines on the market. delivery in April.
“If you assume a 60-40 split between the first dose and the second dose, you are assuming that about 60% of the supply that comes on the market goes. By the end of March, we will have delivered 150 million vaccines and in April, another 60 million, “he said. “We’re going to run out of demand. I mean, I think we need to start thinking on the demand side of this equation soon.”
In addition to voting for 100 million doses of vaccine in his first 100 days in office, President Biden also promised that most schools would reopen in due course. sin. The CDC is expected to publish guidelines this week on the safe reopening of schools, and CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky suggested on Wednesday that vaccination teachers are not “essential” for getting children back into classrooms .
Gottlieb said mitigation measures, such as wearing masks, maintaining speed and taking care of the classroom, should be implemented as a condition for opening schools.
“Schools are not a transmission vector and in particular children under the age of 14 are less likely to get the disease and pass the disease,” he said. “I think it would be good to be able to prioritize teachers so that they can get the vaccine so that they are not at risk of catching the disease and spreading the disease. But I don’t think that I think schools have shown that they can open safely if they take care of the classroom. “