After the deadliest month the U.S. has experienced during the corona plague, with more than 95,000 victims in January, recent days have seen encouraging signs of declining morbidity in the country – along with a significant acceleration in the vaccine campaign so far, which has been more or less lazy.
In line for vaccination at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
(Photo: AP)
Biden wants to wear masks: We can save 50,000 people
(Photo: Reuters)
According to data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to date, about 26.4 million Americans have received only one vaccine, and another six million have also received the second. In all, more than 32.8 million shots were given, with January 20, the day of the inauguration of President Joe Biden, at just 16.5. The vaccine rate now stands at about 1.3 million injections a day, far beyond the official target Biden has set for a million vaccines in each of his first 100 days on the job.
But even the current pace will not be enough to quickly achieve the desired result of the operation – “herd immunity” that will allow Americans to return to a certain degree of routine. Last night, Dr. Anthony Fouchi, Biden’s adviser on corona and the administration’s chief expert on infectious diseases, said that to reach such a situation would require a full vaccination of between 70% and 85% of the total U.S. population, i.e. at least 230 million people. In an interview with CNN, Pauchi added that such a high level of vaccination could be reached in late summer or early fall.
To further accelerate the pace of vaccines, the Biden administration last night announced the implementation from next week of a program to collaborate with pharma chains and pharmacies across the country. According to the plan, which was initiated by the previous administration, the local branches will also distribute vaccines to the population, in parallel with the operation run by the local authorities.
“In the United States, they emphasize the fact that pharma chains already have extensive experience in distributing vaccines, such as influenza vaccines, and if their capabilities are fully utilized – tens of millions of vaccines could be given through them each month.” This will allow more vaccination centers to be opened to people within their communities. ” Zintz, Coordinator of the Biden Government’s Response to the Corona Crisis.
Zintz said the program would begin Feb. 11 and in its first phase, one million vaccines would be distributed to 6,500 branches across the U.S. He said more and more doses would be distributed through local pharmacies, and that the hope was to expand the collaboration to 40,000 branches in total. Warned that difficulties in the supply chain of vaccines are likely to make this program difficult in its early stages.
At the same time, the Biden administration has announced an increase in the vaccine doses it supplies to U.S. states. He said in each of the next three weeks they will receive a total of 10.5 million doses. In addition, Zintz announced that the federal government, through the Disaster Management Agency (FEMA), will compensate the states. The actions taken during the handling of the corona crisis since its inception in January last year – such as the purchase of protective equipment or the use of the National Guard.
In the shadow of the difficulties Biden faced in Congress on his way to approving the huge aid package he offered to boost the economy, which also allocates billions of dollars to expand the vaccination campaign, Zintz stressed last night that the compensation now announced does not need legislative approval. He said the total cost of this compensation plan would be between $ 3 and $ 5 billion.
Expanding the vaccination campaign is now raising hopes in U.S. states, and in some cases the authorities are expanding the conditions for eligibility for the injection. Kentucky Governor Andy Bashir stressed that “our challenge is supply, supply and supply. Remember, we’re giving the vaccine to everyone – it’s just going to take a while. ”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said increasing the ration supply to his state would allow him to inject to local authorities there 20% more vaccines than he has had so far. This increase, he said, would provide them with “flexibility” when it comes to giving priority to certain groups, at their discretion, such as restaurant workers or taxi drivers.
Along with supply problems, sometimes external events also make it difficult to vaccinate. The snowstorm that raged on the east coast of the United States has led to the closure of many vaccine centers in New York. Who waited in line to “turn around,” and shouted at them, “You are lab mice.”
German Jacuzzi, who was then waiting in line for a shot, expressed displeasure at their remarks. “It’s totally wrong,” he told the Los Angeles Times. He said, “I have been waiting for weeks to get an appointment. I am a dentist. I take a big risk in being near patients. I want to be safe for my patients and for my family. The vaccine is the only way to beat the virus.”
At the same time, a downward trend has been recorded in recent days in morbidity data. On the first day of February, the daily number of infections fell – for the first time in two months – to below 100,000, so the daily average in the US is still close to 150,000. By comparison, the daily average of new infections in mid-January was about 250,000. This declining trend is evident in all 50 U.S. states.
Mortality rates have also declined, if to a lesser extent, and as might be expected – given the work that changes in this figure tend to take longer than changes in the infected data. The average daily death rate in the United States now stands at 3,150 – a decrease of about 200 compared to the peak recorded in mid-January. January was the deadliest month since the virus arrived in the United States, and as mentioned, more than 95,000 corona patients died during it. The total death toll in the United States is already more than 446,000, and the total number of people infected is about 26.5 million. In these two figures, the United States is ranked first in the world.
Dr. Philip Landrigan, an epidemiologist at Boston College, says vaccines may have some effect on the decline in morbidity – but he says this is not the main cause behind it. In recent weeks, he says, the politicization of the crisis has diminished significantly – perhaps given the inconceivable dimensions of The plague last month. Landrigan says more Americans are now taking the threat of the virus very seriously. “I do not think the importance of this cultural change can be overstated. I think this is a critical thing, “he added.
But still, even tens of thousands of infections each day constitute a very high level of morbidity, one that gives the virus more opportunities to develop new mutations – ones that may make it more contagious, more lethal – or perhaps have some resistance to the vaccines developed. The possibility of Nazo worries, as in the rest of the world, the US authorities as well.
“The only way the virus can develop mutations is through reproduction. So if you store people, double public health and keep viruses low – there will be no rapid evolution that will lead to mutations,” Dr. Pauzi said in an interview with CNN. to understand. The way to stop the mutations: get vaccinated and follow the health guidelines. ”