Dr. Anthony Fauci recently told ABC News Sunday that the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations could speed up in the near future as the country faces criticisms for its lagging rollout.
What’s going on?
Fauci told ABC News that vaccinations could speed up soon. He said there’s no reason why the United States couldn’t vaccinate 1 million people per day.
- “We are not where we want to be, there’s no doubt about that, but I think we can get there if we really accelerate, get some momentum going, and see what happens as we get into the first couple of weeks of January,” Fauci said.
For example, Fauci pointed to the smallpox vaccinations in 1947 when 5 million people were vaccinated in 14 days.
- “I was a 6-year-old boy who was one of those who got vaccinated,” Fauci said. “So if New York City can do 5 million in two weeks, the United States could do a million a day.”
Biden’s promise
President-elect Joe Biden has promised “at least 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots into the arms of the American people” during his first 100 days in office, according to The New York Times. That would mean 100 million doses by April 30.
- Biden said he’d make it a national priority to make sure children can safely return to school.
Of course, Biden faces skepticism from the American people, a significant amount of whom might not get the vaccine, Dr. Leana Wen, the former Baltimore health commissioner, told The New York Times.
- “Distribution has to be seamless all across the U.S., and that means every state and local health department coordinating,” Wen said. “And there’s the issue of public trust. So I certainly hope that it happens, but it’s very optimistic.”