WAS SHINGTON – Opposing the government’s top health experts, President Donald Trump on Wednesday predicted that the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could be ready for a safe and effective vaccine against coronavirus early next month and in mass distribution. Call it “confusion” in presenting a long deadline.
Trump about the effectiveness of protective masks. Robert also disagreed with Redfield – who the president recommends but almost never wears – and said he telephoned Redfield so they would tell him.
Earlier in the day, the CDC sent a “playbook” to all Americans for free to distribute the vaccine to all states when it was found to be safe and effective – which is not yet the case. Redfield said in a congressional hearing that health care workers, first responders and others at high risk will get the vaccine first, perhaps in January or later this year, but in late spring or after the approval is expected, it is not likely to be more widely available. Summer.
Redfield, who has been in the Senate hearing room for some time, also spoke about the importance of everyone wearing a protective mask to prevent an epidemic that has killed nearly 200,000 Americans. He expressed the possibility that the vaccine would be 70% effective in inducing immunity and said, “All I can say is that this face mask is more sure to protect me against covid than taking covid vaccine.”
Trump will have none of that from the CDC director.
“The vaccine is more effective than the mask,” he declared.
“We think we can start sometime in October,” Trump said Wednesday on the issue of vaccinating Americans. One of his recently added advisors, Dr. Scott Atlas said about 700 million doses could be received by the end of March.
The vaccine is still being taken in human subjects, Trump predicted, and some health experts say they believe the safest and most effective vaccine lasts for several months, if not more time.
The CDC sent planning documents to U.S. states, territories and some major cities on Wednesday. To add rational difficulties, the vaccine must be given in potentially two doses at weekly intervals and refrigerated.
Redfield said states are not ready to deal with the demand for such distributions and will need funding 6 billion in new funding to prepare the country.
Unveiled, Trump said, “We’re ready to move, and I think it will be a full delivery.”
Redfield said any vaccine available in November or December would have a “very limited supply”, and is reserved for first responders and those most susceptible to Covid-19. Shots will not be widely available until the spring or summer of 2021, he estimated.
On Wednesday night, after Trump’s comments, CDC officials initially sent an email claiming that Redfield thought it was in response to a question about when all Americans would be vaccinated. But they later retracted the statement, and did not immediately comment.
The entire vaccine enterprise faces constant public suspicion. About half of Americans said they would be vaccinated in the Associated Press-NORC poll in May. Since then, questions have been raised about whether the government is trying to rush into treatment and vaccinations just to help Trump’s re-election opportunities.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that political appointee Michael Capoto will take a leave of absence “to focus on his health and the well-being of his family.” The news came after a revelation that Capoto had leaked the CVC. No. attempted to gain editorial control over Covid-19 over scientific publications, which he claimed were hurting the Trump administration.
Redfield said the “scientific integrity” of his agency’s reports “has not been compromised and will not be compromised under my watch.” He also rejected questions on whether the CDC’s deadline to prepare vaccines for the states by November 1 was politically motivated.
“The worst thing that happens if we have a vaccine and we’re still not ready to deliver,” Redfeld told Senate legislators. “There was no political thinking about this.”
The committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Patti Murray of Washington, D.C., said HHS’s political interference had damaged public confidence in the government’s health information.
“The Trump administration needs to leave science to scientists immediately,” Murray said.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, campaigning, said he believed what scientists said about a possible vaccine – but not Trump.
Biden has said he will get a vaccine “tomorrow” if it is available, but will want to see “what scientists say” first.
Speaking of the planned vaccination campaign, Redfield said his agency would work closely with state health officials to implement preparations in the coming days.
Scheme Features:
– For most vaccines, people will need two doses, except for 21 to 28 days. Double dose vaccines must come from the same drug manufacturer. There can be many vaccines from different manufacturers that are approved and available.
– U.S. population vaccination will not be a sprint but a marathon. Initially there may be a limited supply of vaccines, and the focus will be on rescuing health workers, other essential staff and people from vulnerable groups. Vaccination will be extended to the entire population from the second and third phases.
– The vaccine itself will be free, thanks to the millionaire taxpayer funds approved by Congress and allocated by the Trump administration. The goal is that patients will not be charged separately for the administration of shots, and officials say they are working to ensure that is for all Medicare recipients and the uninsured as well as those covered by insurance in their jobs.
– States and local communities will need to develop specific plans for receiving and distributing vaccines locally, some of which will require special handling, such as refrigeration or freezing. States and cities have one month to submit plans.
– Tracking who is getting which vaccine and when, and the main challenge involves getting a lot of public and private databases to link to each other will require a huge amount of information technology effort.
Some elaborate elements of the federal plan have already been discussed, but Wednesday’s reports sought to put the key details into a broader framework. When a version is approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, the White House-initiated initiative to prepare the vaccine for measles within 24 hours is delivered under the umbrella of Operation Speed Speed.
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Stobbe reported from New York. The report was contributed by AP writer Alexandra Jaffe.
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