President Donald Trump will sign "America First," an executive order that aims to prioritize inoculations in the U.S.
A senior administration official explained that the order is a “reaffirmation of the president’s commitment to America First.” Moreover, the order urges government agencies, including the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development, to coordinate to aid international partners and allies get hold of coronavirus vaccines.
Meanwhile, an administration official told NBC News that the schedule for assisting other countries will be based on supply and demand but is expected to start in the second quarter. President-elect Joe Biden will officially start his office on Jan. 20 and could implement his own policy for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
Trump would sign the America First order after his speech at the Covid-19 summit at the White House on Tuesday, according to a senior administration official. Administration officials and drug distributors will explain the process of evaluating and distributing vaccines in the event.
America First: How vaccines will be distributed
Covid vaccine chief Moncef Slaoui set a vaccination schedule for the U.S., claiming that the entire population is done by June.
“Hopefully by the middle of the year, I hope most Americans will have been immunized, which means the level of hesitancy that exists currently will have been decreased because people will have learned more information … about the vaccine,” he told The Washington Post in a livestream interview.
He added that if everyone gets immunized, the U.S. “should have this pandemic under control in the second half of 2021.”
The government advisor admitted that it is “a big number” of doses to produce, but it is “a small number compared to the U.S. population and the need we have.” He further explained that people must still follow health protocols, like wearing face masks and social distancing.
Former FDA Chief and Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb has expressed optimism over Covid vaccine supply in 2021.
“The supply ramps very quickly as you move out and the more you push out that timeframe into 2021 by a week or two weeks, you have less supply in 2020,” Gottlieb said. “I’m hopeful that we’re going to have adequate supply in 2021 and it’s going to ramp very quickly, but hopefully these do get into the market this year.”
Dr. Bruce Becker, adjunct professor of behavioral medicine and social science at Brown University’s School of Public Health, is concerned about the death toll in the approaching months.
“I expect the death rate to continue at this level or increase, maybe even double in the next month,” Becker said. “Every winter we see significant death rates from influenza, other respiratory viruses, and bacterial pneumonia, especially in the population most susceptible to severe Covid-19 infection. Expect this population to suffer severe Covid-19 disease and mortality in the next three to four months.”
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs predicts that more than 70% of people in developed countries will be vaccinated against the virus by fall 2021.
