“I would never have thought that within a year of the identification of a new virus, we would have a vaccine that is given to people, that is safe, and effective, and that gives us hope,” said Ric. Said Richard Besser. , Former executive director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “In the darkest days of this epidemic, we have a ray of hope.”
“We really had tears in our eyes when the vaccine came here,” said CEO Mason Van Hewling.
All 50 states, including Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, received the vaccine dose on Monday. Gen Gustave Parna, chief operating officer of Operation Worm Speed, said on Monday that vaccinations are also likely to begin in nursing homes.
“This vaccine, as wonderful as it is, won’t change the way we feel this winter,” Besser told CNN. “What we need to do will not change; it will not all change the need to wear masks and social distance and wash our hands.”
Vaccine eliminates hesitation
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. “For the last few weeks to months nothing has been on my mind more than this issue,” Jerome Adams told CNN. “I work with Pfizer, with Moderna, with AstraZeneca, with Johnson and Johnson to make sure we have the right number of minorities registered for this vaccine test so people understand they are safe.”
Adams said he is trusting leaders of minority communities, including trust leaders and comrades and sorority, as well as celebrity influencers who can “use their megaphones to share the right information with the public, as vaccine hesitation is the biggest There is great social injustice. “
Adams added, “Every year thousands of black and brown people die because they are unreliable on the system.” “In many cases, that’s fine, but because they don’t get the facts to help restore trust in the system.”
“I understand the mistrust between the minority community,” he said. “I don’t tell people to do anything I don’t do myself and so I volunteered and was happy at first.”
“I didn’t know I was making history and that’s why I did it. I wanted to inspire people who might be skeptical about getting vaccinated and believing in science,” Lindsay added.
The beginning of the end … but not the end
Dr. Anthony Fawcett said Monday that the effects of the vaccination will not come overnight.
“It’s not like turning the light switch on and off,” he said during a Virtual Health event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to throw away the mask and forget about the physical differences in the gathering settings for a while, maybe. Maybe we won’t until late fall or early next winter.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Monday that he believes the general public could start getting vaccinated by the end of February and March – earlier than other experts estimate.
“It will, indeed, again be on the governors of our nation, but with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, by the end of February, we will have 100 (million) shots in the arsenal,” he told NBC on Monday.
“If we get the Johnson and Johnson or AstraZeneca vaccine approved in January, when the data comes out, we will have a significant additional supply.” “By the end of the March period, I think you’ll be starting to look more like a flu vaccination campaign – people going to their Kroger, their CVS or VGLgrins, Walmart.”
Returning to normalcy, officials said, it will depend on how fast the vaccination is done – and how many Americans are vaccinated. The director of the National Institute of Health, Dr. According to Francis Collins, about 70% to 80% of Americans are immune to the virus “before it goes away.”
“We think we’ll be able to reach about 330 million Americans who are interested in getting this vaccine by June or by then,” Collins told NBC on Sunday. “But if only half of them do, this could go further and further.”
Difficult months ahead
Meanwhile, U.S. Still preparing to face some of the darkest days of the epidemic. In California, Governor Gavin Newsme said when vaccines presented a moment of hope, he added that “we are among the worst moments of this epidemic.”
More than 30,000 new Covid-19 cases have joined the state for the fourth day and hospital admissions and ICU admissions are at an all-time high.
More than 4,200 people have been hospitalized in Kovid-19, and 21% of them are in the ICU, officials said.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio hinted at tougher sanctions next week, saying the city was on a “very troubled” road in terms of the number of people who fell ill, in terms of the number of people we would lose. .. and obviously the impact on hospitals, their ability to treat people. “
“We will consider big steps now,” he said on Monday. “I think the natural time to do this is immediately after Christmas.”
“We will monitor and evaluate our current situation on a daily basis and … (we) will be subject to current sanctions, and with the goal of reaching the next month.”
The governor added, “But I need to be clear.” If officials and experts agree that our trends are going beyond our ability to respond, I will be forced to come up against you again with tougher actions. “
CNN’s Andy Rose, Cherry Mossberg, Shelby Lynn Eirdman and Omar Jimenez contributed to the report.
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