At This Pace, We Won't See Adequate US Vaccination Rate for a Decade

Public health officials say the pace is too slow
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 30, 2020 4:00 AM CST
At This Rate, It Will Take a Decade to Adequately Vaccinate Americans
Pat Moore, with the Chester County, Pa., Health Department, fills a syringe with Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before administering it to emergency medical workers and healthcare personnel at the Chester County Government Services Center, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, in West Chester, Pa.   (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The goal of Operation Warp Speed is to have 80% of the US population vaccinated against COVID-19 by late June. That won't happen if the pace at which vaccinations are currently happening continues, NBC News reports. The rate necessary to meet that goal is 3 million people getting the shot per day, but to date, just 2 million Americans in total have done so. "I don't think we're going to be able to distribute the 20 million doses that were promised" by the end of 2020, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner, told CNBC on Tuesday. Other public health officials have also complained, Stat reports, noting that more than 11 million vaccine doses have been shipped to states so far. (President-elect Biden also bemoaned the slow pace Tuesday.)

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