How difficult is it to achieve herd immunity?
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(CNN) -
Millions of Americans receive doses of the COVID-19 vaccine every day, but a medical expert believes the country may not achieve herd immunity this year if more people cannot be convinced to get vaccinated.
"What really worries me is that people who are already undecided will not get vaccinated (and) we will not achieve herd immunity when fall comes," medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen told CNN.
"And then with winter ... we have a great resurgence, maybe we have variants that come from other countries, and we could start this whole process all over again and have another big pandemic come winter."
Experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have calculated that between 70% and 85% of the American population must be immune to the virus, through vaccination or previous infection, to control its spread.
So far, 44.4% of the population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 31.8% are fully vaccinated, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, the average daily vaccination rate has been declining for about two weeks.
The CDC reported Monday that 246 million total doses of vaccines have been administered, about 79% of the 312.5 million doses delivered.
This is about 1.2 million more doses given since Sunday, a seven-day average of about 2.3 million doses a day.
The seven-day average was 3.1 million on April 19.
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Covid-19 vaccination efforts in the United States may now decline, says official.
These are the reasons
At least one vaccine could be available soon for minors.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is about to authorize the Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 early next week, according to a statement. federal government official to CNN.
FDA to Authorize Pfizer's Covid-19 Vaccine for Children Ages 12 to 15 Next Week, Official Says
"It's going to take us a lot longer to get back to normal life, stop having to wear masks for our protection, if people don't get vaccinated and we don't have an equitable distribution of vaccines," Dr. Celine Gounder told CNN on Sunday. , specialist in infectious diseases.
Some experts believe that reducing infections will suffice, even if herd immunity is not achieved.
While it would be unfortunate if the United States failed to achieve herd immunity, most people will be able to return to their pre-pandemic lives if the number of cases continues to decline, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the School, told CNN on Monday. University of Brown Health.
"We may not get to zero, we probably won't," Jha said.
“But if we can get infections to very low levels, most of us will be able to return to our normal lives.
I think we can probably live with that.
For the ongoing federal, state, and local efforts to put more vaccines in the arms of Americans, now comes the hard part: reaching the public who weren't as eager to get vaccinated in recent months or who may not have had access to the vaccine. vaccine.
"We have to be ... innovative when it comes to culturally competent education and think about where the gaps are and where we can vaccinate people," infectious disease expert Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis told CNN during the Weekend.
Customers dining on an outdoor patio in New York on April 27, 2021.
"Facilitate vaccination," says a doctor
New strategies to increase vaccinations should be tried, such as closing mass vaccination centers and distributing vaccines in more localized places, such as doctors' offices, churches, schools and workplaces, Wen said.
The government should "make it very easy" to vaccinate, Wen said, especially for Americans who do not hesitate to get vaccinated but do not have time due to their jobs and family responsibilities.
In addition, the social aspect of vaccination must be emphasized.
We answer your questions about covid-19 24:54
"I think we should do the same thing that people did with vaccine selfies," Wen said.
"I think we need selfies of people now going to bars and restaurants with other vaccinated people to show what a return to pre-pandemic life in 2019 could really look like."
A doctor told CNN on Sunday that he is concerned that authorities have not offered strong enough incentives for some Americans to get vaccinated, including the very young.
"What worries me the most are the young people," said Dr. Saju Mathew, a family medicine physician in Atlanta.
"I see them every day, more or less, at work."
The CDC released new guidance last week that says fully vaccinated people can remove the mask in small outdoor gatherings or when dining out with friends from various households - activities for which, according to the agency, unvaccinated people should keep wearing a mask.
15 of the safest activities for those who are fully vaccinated, with and without masks
But the guidelines are too cautious, Mathew said.
"I think the CDC missed an opportunity to say, 'Listen, we can go back to pre-pandemic life, and you can do more if you're vaccinated,'" Mathew said.
"So I think when science is out there with positive news, we should share it and motivate people to get vaccinated."
Currently, all people over the age of 16 can be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States.
But survey data shows that the youngest Americans are the least likely to get vaccinated.
Some young people in the US hesitate to get vaccinated against covid-19 and that is a problem for all Americans
36% of adults under 35 say they don't plan to get vaccinated, according to a recent Quinnipiac University survey.
This is especially concerning for a number of reasons.
Unvaccinated young Americans have helped drive the increase in cases across the US, including in several states last month.
At the time, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky noticed that infections and hospitalizations were increasing, especially among young adults who had not been vaccinated.
And in places like Michigan, which battled a violent spring surge, authorities last month reported that they were registering younger, healthier COVID-19 patients in hospitals, affected by the most contagious variants that have been circulating in the US. USA
Free beer for the vaccinated in New Jersey
Dr. Azaret: Give incentives to encourage vaccination against covid-19 1:08
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the state plans to put its efforts "in motion" to get more residents vaccinated, including allowing walk-ins for anyone over the age of 16 at the six mega-vaccination sites in the United States. been at specific times.
The state will also launch a vaccine awareness initiative that will include a "massive" email campaign and automated outbound calls, Murphy said.
In a campaign called
"Shot and a Beer,"
the state plans to offer a free beer to anyone 21 and older who shows their completed CDC vaccination card at thirteen participating breweries across the state, Murphy said.
Another statewide campaign called
"Grateful for the Shot"
will provide services for New Jerseyans "to go directly from religious services to vaccination sites," Murphy said.
Last week, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice said the state was offering a $ 100 savings bond to residents ages 16 to 35 who get vaccinated, in an effort to immunize more young residents.
On Monday, Justice said the state does not yet have an answer on how it will buy those bonds.
Whether the payment comes in the form of a check, card or voucher, you want it to have a "true patriotic touch."
At a press conference, he pleaded with vaccine-reluctant West Virginia residents to think about the rise in COVID-19 cases in India.
He compared India, where only 2% of the population has been vaccinated, with West Virginia, where 53% of the state's population has received a dose and all residents over the age of 16 can receive it.
"Do you think there would be a single person in India today who did not queue for vaccines?"
Justice said.
“Everyone would line up as far as possible.
Because today, they do not have the capacity, and the absolute right to have the vaccine that we have here.
And yet they would run to queue.
The governor also announced new initiatives to bring mobile vaccination posts to high-traffic areas, such as shopping malls, sports fairs and events, and local parks.
The state is also partnering with organizations like Meals on Wheels to offer vaccines along with food delivery.
"We may even get to this door-to-door thing, and if we have to go door-to-door, we will," Justice said.
Maryland will now offer a $ 100 financial incentive to state employees to get vaccinated, according to a news release from Gov. Larry Hogan's office.
The release says that all state employees who are fully vaccinated are eligible for the new program, including all state employees who have already been fully vaccinated.
Employees must show their human resources office proof of vaccination and agree to receive all subsequent booster shots recommended by the CDC within 18 months of being fully vaccinated.
Employees who refuse to receive the subsequent booster vaccines recommended by the CDC must return the US $ 100 to the state, according to the statement.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a decree Monday suspending the remaining power of local governments to implement or enforce COVID-19 restrictions.
“I think that is the right thing to do based on the evidence.
I think the people who are saying they need to be watching people at this point, if you say that, you are really saying that you don't believe in vaccines, you don't believe in data, you don't believe in science, ”DeSantis said at a conference. of press in Saint Petersburg.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said she was "deeply concerned" by DeSantis's order.
"We are still in a public health emergency and the economy has not fully recovered from the crisis," Cava said.
"Less than half of the residents have been vaccinated, and we face a growing threat from variants of the virus."
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the governor's order is proof that the state is getting ahead of local authority, which is not good for democracy.
"When I ask myself, 'What is really the purpose of the governor's actions, I conclude that his actions are part of a larger partisan strategy by the Republican Party to usurp the authority of Democratic-led urban cities and counties in all of the United States, "Demings said in a statement.
Vaccine booster doses will not require the full FDA review process
Any booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine that has already been granted emergency use authorization will not be subject to the same scrutiny as an entirely new vaccine, Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said Monday. functions of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Manufacturers will be asked to provide supplemental information, including efficacy and safety data, and a justification for a booster dose, but the FDA will not require that the vaccine be fully reauthorized, Woodcock told SiriusXM's Doctor Radio Reports with Dr. Marc Siegel.
Planned booster doses for vaccines against covid-19 0:40
"If it's just a booster with the same vaccine, or maybe some small change, but it's a booster for another dose, then they would just have to submit what's called an efficacy supplement to the agency that would have the clinical data." , He said.
That clinical information would include the reasons a booster is needed, the safety of another dose, and how the booster should be given.
Similar requirements for reauthorization could apply if manufacturers modify their vaccines to be variant specific.
- CNN's Melissa Alonso, Virginia Langmaid, Deidre McPhillips, Rebekah Riess, Leyla Santiago Hannah Sarisohn and Dan Shepherd contributed to this report.
Covid-19 Herd immunity