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US COVID Vaccinations Still Lagging, Health Officials Say

Ken Bredemeier

   WASHINGTON - The U.S. government's effort to vaccinate millions of
   Americans against the coronavirus pandemic is lagging, new health
   officials in President Joe Biden's administration conceded Sunday. But
   they held out hope that the campaign to curb the virus will markedly
   improve within three months.

   "The plane is in a nosedive and we've got to pull it up," Xavier
   Becerra, Biden's choice as health and human services chief, told CNN
   about the vaccination progress.

   "What we inherited didn't work, and now we've got to make it work,"
   Becerra said.

   He said problems won't be fixed quickly, but that "we can do
   better...we can get us back to real normality."

   Before leaving office last week, President Donald Trump praised his
   administration's efforts to combat the pandemic.

   Biden has set a goal of administering 100 million vaccination shots in
   his first 100 days in office. Last week, he signed orders to ramp up
   the production of more doses of two vaccines now approved for use and
   other medical equipment needed to treat those who have contracted
   COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the virus.

   That pace of vaccinations is now roughly on track to be met, which
   would inoculate about 67 million people, some with their initial shot
   and some with both of their required shots. Some critics say the pace
   should be quicker.

   Becerra said, "Getting 100 million shots out there in 100 days is
   incredibly important. It's ambitious, it's bold, it's doable. We have
   to do it." Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CBS
   News's "Face the Nation" show, the number was "a floor, not a ceiling."

   Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new director for the Centers for Disease
   Control and Prevention, told the "Fox News Sunday" program, "We have to
   go faster," but that the lack of a sufficient supply of the vaccine may
   prevent that.

   "The supply is probably going to be the most limiting constraint," she
   said. "We're really hoping that after that first 100 days we're going
   to have much more production."

   "I'm hopeful we'll get an increase in supply, not a stagnating one. We
   don't have as many doses now that we would like," she said. Walensky
   said she hopes that changes by the end of March.

   "One of the biggest problems we have right now is that I can't tell you
   how much vaccine we have," she said. Walensky said that if she cannot
   tell state governors and health officials how much vaccine they will be
   receiving, "then they can't plan...they can't figure out how many
   appointments to make."

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