President Donald Trump’s administration will now make several changes to its COVID-19 vaccine distribution strategy, allowing the country to roll out the vaccine more quickly to all Americans, CNN reports.
What are the changes?
- The first change includes ending the practice of holding second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in reserve. The country will ship more doses right away to the states, according to CNN.
- Secondly, the Trump administration will call on states to expand the eligibility pool to include those 65 and older, and those with underlying conditions.
- Lastly, the Trump administration will urge states to expand vaccination to more locations and super sites, CNN reports.
Key quote:
- “We had been holding back second doses as a safety stock,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. “We now believe that our manufacturing is predictable enough that we can ensure second doses are available for people from ongoing production, so everything is now available to our states and our health care providers.”
Biden’s team is planning the same thing
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President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced a similar idea last week, NPR reports. Biden’s team plans to send most reserved doses out right away, which would allow more people to get first doses. Biden’s team believes new doses could be made in time to keep up with the booster shot schedule.