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Biden asks to increase the vaccination rate. But herd immunity is still a long way off

2021-01-26T12:06:02.603Z


The president wants the vaccine to be widely available by spring. However, of the total doses distributed, only 55% have been administered and less than 1% of the population has received the two injections that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines need.


President Joe Biden increases his goal to contain the pandemic.

If before he had set 100 million doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 in the first 100 days of his term, the Democrat now believes that the country can administer 150 million doses in the same period.

Biden said Monday that he believes the country can administer

1.5 million vaccines per day in the coming weeks. 

[Follow our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic]

"I think we can get to 1.5 million (vaccines) a day, instead of a million a day," Biden said after receiving criticism for his previous goal, being considered limited.

In the last week, the country exceeded the rate of one million daily doses.

The federal government has distributed 41.4 million doses to the states as of Monday, of which 22.7 million have been administered, that is, about

55%.

 Also, about 3.3 million people have received the two doses necessary to achieve immunization, which represents

less than 1% of the population

, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronym in English).

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This happens when the United States has exceeded

422,000 deaths from COVID-19,

according to data from our sister network NBC News.

The president warned that the country could reach between 600,000 and 660,000 deaths before it manages to bend the contagion curve.

A logistical challenge

To reach this new goal, the government is going to have to establish more vaccination centers, hire more people to inject and ensure that there is enough material, such as syringes, added Biden.

To fund this effort, he asked Congress for more than $ 400 billion.

His goals come amid growing complaints from state health officials about the lack of vaccines.

Many hospitals have had to cancel appointments due to lack of supply.

"It's going to be a logistical challenge that surpasses everything we've tried in this country, but I think we can do it," Biden said.

By the summer "we are going to be well on our way to

herd immunity,

" he added, including making the vaccine available to children.

[The first case in the country of the variant of the coronavirus that originated in Brazil is detected in Minnesota]

Both Moderna's vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech's, the only ones approved so far, require two doses to be effective.

This means that

150 million doses will protect 75 million people who receive both doses

, approximately

23% of the population

.

But to achieve group immunity it is necessary that more than 70% of the population be vaccinated, according to experts.

Although the Government of Biden announced that it will release the second doses to manage to administer the first to more people as soon as possible. 

Although experts have warned that the interval between the first and second doses of the vaccine does not have to be exact, they have emphasized that 

it is necessary to administer a second dose.

"The main reason for a second dose is to get immunity

high enough

to be sure the person is protected," said Dr. Diane Griffin, an infectious disease expert at Johns University School of Medicine. Hopkins.

"People may think they are protected because they got a dose," Griffin said.

While the first dose offers protection, the doctor emphasized that "

a second dose is necessary" for complete protection

.

What about the new variants?

The country's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, confirmed to NBC News on Monday that work is already underway to improve existing vaccines against the new variants.

Modern announcement on Monday that its coronavirus vaccine shows a level of efficacy "

sufficient to maintain protection

" against this disease in the new variants and mutations detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa and other countries, which are already spreading across the globe.

So did Pfizer.

[California lifts stay-at-home order amid harsh criticism of governor]

However, early studies with these new strains suggest that immunization may take

less time than expected.

Moderna said that its vaccine effectively protects against a variant detected in the United Kingdom, and that it is considered more contagious and, possibly, more deadly.

In the case of the strain detected in

South Africa

, the

vaccine generates six times lower levels of antibodies

, the company said in a statement.

BioNTech CEO Dr. Ugur Sahin said Monday that his company is in talks with regulatory bodies around the world about the types of clinical trials and safety reviews needed to authorize a new version of its vaccine that could better prevent the South African variant.

By Gabriela Martínez with information from AP and NBC News, The New York Times and NBC News.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-01-26

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