http://Solving the Vaccine Crisis by Betsy McCaughey
Doctors are warning that as the virus becomes more infectious, even a trip to the supermarket with a mask is risky.
Vaccine supply is not the problem…. The problem is that state and local authorities are bungling vaccine distribution.
Every evening, Governor Andrew Cuomo sends out a blast e-mail blaming the vaccine chaos in New York on inadequate supply from the federal government. It is a lie. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show New York is delivering only 37% of its vaccine supply into people’s arms.
All this is proof that the states are failing miserably. It is time for a federal emergency mass vaccination program staged at malls, arenas and other public sites.
On Friday, President-elect Joe Biden announced his plan to improve vaccination rates. It is modest. He promised 100 million shots in the first hundred days of his term. That will not do the job. It is barely half of what is needed.
For the last week, members of Congress did not see fit to spend even one minute tackling the life-threatening virus terrorizing the rest of us.
Americans are desperate to get vaccinated against COVID. Deaths are soaring, and new strains of the virus, including the UK strain and a newly discovered US strain reported for the first time last week, are reported to be even more contagious. Doctors are warning that as the virus becomes more infectious, even a trip to the supermarket with a mask is risky. Survival hinges on getting vaccinated.
Yet only a third of the vaccine doses shipped to the states by the federal government are actually making it into people’s arms. The public hears they may have to wait months. That is unacceptable.
Vaccine supply is not the problem. The US already has 400 million doses in total of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the pipeline, enough to vaccinate 200 million people. (Both vaccines require a two-shot regimen.) In addition, this week, Johnson & Johnson announced it will be ready to seek FDA authorization for its vaccine by March. Initial results from its clinical trials indicate the same 90% plus efficacy as the Moderna and Pfizer products and with only one shot.