US Coronavirus: Covid-19 vaccines could be made available to the public in April in the United States, Fauci says

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The director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases told NBC ‘s “Today” show that he believes that the pace of vaccination will increase into March and April.

More doses should be available each day before then, he said. And he said he was “almost certain” that development, community vaccination centers and mobile units would help at the end of April – and not just for those in higher priority groups.

“I think before we reach April, that’s what I would want, you know, for better terminology, an open season,” Fauci said. “In fact, almost everyone and anyone in any region could start getting the vaccine.”

Pfizer and Moderna, the two companies currently with US-authorized Covid-19 vaccines, have started testing for children – but they have started with older age groups.

The Pfizer trial in children ages 12-15 is fully enrolled with 2,259 participants. The company said it hopes to get results “in early 2021 and from there, we expect to complete our study in children ages 5-11.”

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Moderna is still enrolling participants in its trial in children ages 12-18, and plans to start testing the vaccine on even younger children between 6 months and 11 years old.

“I would think before we get to the opening of the school, we are likely to get people who come in to the first level,” Fauci told ProPublica.

President Biden is rolling out 300 million vaccines by July

Fauci has previously said that Americans had a chance to live a little more normal by falling early, assuming that 70% to 85% of the U.S. population was getting the vaccine by the end of the year. -summer.
His comments came Thursday as some states have complained that vaccine demand has exceeded supply. States first raced to vaccinate priority populations – often health care workers and people in long-term care facilities – followed by seniors and / or essential workers.
More than 34.7 million people in the U.S. had received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine at least Thursday morning, CDC data show, while more than 11.1 million people have received two doses.
The average daily dose of Covid-19 vaccine administration in the U.S. has been steadily rising every week since the first pictures were released on December 14th.

Over the past seven days, the average number of doses administered daily was nearly 1.6 million, according to a CNN study of data released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Both Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna have indicated that their weekly production should be picked up.

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Pfizer, which said it delivered 20 million doses to the U.S. by January 31, expects to deliver a total of 200 million doses by the end of May, with more after that. Moderna, which delivered 30.4 million by January 26, has said it expects to deliver a full 100 million doses by the end of March, with more later.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is on track to get a vaccine supply for 300 million Americans “by the end of July.”

“Within three weeks, ‘around the clock working with so many people standing behind me and in front of me, we have now purchased enough vaccine supplies to vaccinate all Americans , and now we are working to get these vaccines in the arms of millions of people, “Biden said at a speech at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Biden also announced that the U.S. has purchased additional Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

And Johnson & Johnson would add to the nation’s supply if the one-dose candidate is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. The company has said it could deliver 20 million to 30 million doses by the end of April if the authority comes.
At the same time, more nationwide will start delivering the sights with an order starting Friday, and some experts have said they could eventually deliver 100 million doses a month, which assume that there would be adequate supply.

More states are resolving Covid-19 restrictions, despite warnings about changes

More states are opening up Covid-19 restrictions, even as experts warn the U.S. is less clear as more volatile changes emerge across the country.
People can skip the Covid quarantine vaccine, CDC says
To date, more than 940 cases of Covid-19 mutations, first detected in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, have been reported in the US, according to CDC data.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill Wednesday protecting businesses and houses of worship from legal liability for the release of Covid-19 while taking steps to follow public health guidelines, and announced it would not extend the state mask command.

“The mask command will end on Friday,” the governor said, adding, “Since we are not out of the woods yet, I will continue to wear a mask, and I will encourage all Montgomery to do the same. to do. ”

Visitors will have lunch inside on Jan. 27 at the Gibsons Italia restaurant in Chicago.
Officials in Chicago said Wednesday indoor service at bars, restaurants and events can expand to a minimum capacity of 25% or 50 people per room or floor. The measure, which will take effect Thursday, comes as part of a broader plan to ease Covid-19 restrictions in the city.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that stadiums and venues with more than 10,000 seats can reopen starting Feb. 23, with permission from the state health department – with severe restrictions. The Barclays Center in Brooklyn has already been agreed to open that day for the Brooklyn Nets NBA game against Sacramento Kings.

However, New York stadiums need to limit their capacity to 10%; must ensure that all employees and observers received a negative Covid-19 PCR test within the past 72 hours; and must order a front cover and socially assigned seats.

“As long as we continue to fight Covid on many fronts, we must also reopen this economy intelligently and in a fair way,” Cuomo said.

In New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state would impose its mandatory quarantine rule on people coming from “high-risk” states, announcing the change of policy to a “clearer pandemic” after several months of strain or consistent with the state health care system. ”

Dr. Barney Graham, The head of the laboratory and Deputy Director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health, told President Joe Biden Thursday that the standard coronavirus vaccines should work against modifications of the virus.

But health experts have warned that Covid-19 changes are causing a problem in the country’s outlook. Mitigating restrictions is now “extremely dangerous,” says Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued a warning earlier in the week.

“It is absolutely vital that we continue to take steps beyond the vaccine to control this,” said Besser. “The more this virus is allowed to spread in our communities, the more the more we see these variables spread. “

Cases, hospitals and deaths are falling, for now

The CDC has said that a more volatile variant first identified in the United Kingdom could dominate the U.S. in March, and could exacerbate virus transmission.

Double insult can prevent 92% of infectious grains, CDC says

For now, however, new Covid-19 case and death rates, and Covid-19 patient numbers in hospitals, are falling after an increase in holiday time:

– Issues: The U.S. has averaged 104,304 new Covid-19 cases per day over the past week – down 58% from the country’s average of more than 249,800 on Jan. 8, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

– Hospitals: There were more than 76,900 Covid-19 patients in U.S. hospitals Wednesday – the lowest total since Nov. 16, according to the COVID tracking project. The number has been below 100,000 for 12 straight days.

– Deaths: The country has taken an average of 2,779 Covid – 19 deaths per day over the past week – down from the country ‘s average of 3,363 in mid – January, Johns Hopkins data shows.

– The national test validity rate – or the percentage of tests performed that are positive – is now at an average of 6.49%, according to the COVID tracking project.

That’s down from a winter peak of around 13.6% in early January. But the World Health Organization has recommended that governments not reopen until the test confirmation rate is 5% or lower for at least two weeks.

An ensemble forecast released Wednesday by the CDC projects that the U.S. could see another 68,000 virus-related deaths by March 6, adding to the more than 471,700 previously recorded.

CNN’s Naomi Thomas, Andy Rose, Michael Nedelman, Keri Enriquez, Jacqueline Howard, Ben Tinker, Jennifer Hauser and Brad Parks contributed to this report.

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