During a press briefing, Azar expressed frustration with the slow rollout, citing the micromanagement of states.
“It would be much better to move quickly and end up vaccinating some lower-priority people than to let vaccines sit around while states try to micromanage this process,” Azar said. “Faster administration could save lives right now, which means we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
The comments of one of the nation s top health officials will likely further fuel Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has spent the week publicly calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to allow the city to begin vaccinating those over the age of 75 as well as police and correctional officers.
U.S. tries to expedite vaccine distribution after record day of death
Paulina Firozi, Jacqueline Dupree and Meryl Kornfield, The Washington Post
Jan. 7, 2021
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WASHINGTON - After angry rioters and supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a last stand for the outgoing president, the United States has tallied its deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic for the second straight day.
On Thursday, more than 4,000 people died of covid-19 in the United States, the first time the toll has exceeded that milestone, after a record day Wednesday of 3,915 deaths. The pandemic has now claimed more than 363,000 lives in the United States. More than 265,000 new coronavirus cases were reported, the second-highest count in a day according to a Washington Post analysis. More than 132,000 people are battling covid-19 in hospital beds, the most the nation s health-care system has taken on.
President-elect Joe Biden favors release of more vaccine doses as U.S. struggles in pandemic s grip, spokesman says The President-elect believes we must accelerate distribution of the vaccine while continuing to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible, TJ Ducklo, a spokesman for Biden s transition, told Reuters.
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Trevor Hunnicutt and Maria Caspani / Reuters | 4:59 pm, Jan. 8, 2021 ×
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden removes his face mask as he arrives to announce his Justice Department nominees at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, Jan. 7, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - President-elect Joe Biden wants to release more available doses of coronavirus vaccines when he takes office, a spokesman said on Friday, as the United States capped the first week of the new year with grim pandemic numbers.
Biden urges the distribution of nearly all available coronavirus vaccine Amy Goldstein President-elect Joe Biden prepares to speak in Delaware on Friday. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) President-elect Joe Biden said Friday that he favors releasing nearly all available coronavirus vaccines right away, rather than holding back doses to ensure enough for people to get the required second shots. It is the incoming president’s first signal about how he plans to change the protocol the Trump administration is using in an unprecedented mass vaccination campaign that began mere weeks ago. “The president-elect believes we must accelerate distribution of the vaccine while continuing to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible,” a Biden transition spokesman, T.J. Ducklo, said in a statement. “He believes the government should stop holding back vaccine supply so we can get more shots in Americans’ arms now.”