Official says vaccine expected in January City OKs renaming of sewage plant

A Trump administration official leading the response to the coronavirus pandemic says the U.S. can expect delivery of a vaccine starting in January 2021, despite statements from the president that inoculations could begin this month.

And a growing, bipartisan chorus of lawmakers, experts and public health officials says the country is ill prepared for a projected winter surge of COVID-19.

Dr. Robert Kadlec said in an email Friday that the administration “is accelerating production of safe and effective vaccines . . . to ensure delivery starting January 2021.” Kadlec is the Department of Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary of preparedness and response. HHS says a vaccine could be approved before the end of the year but will take time to distribute.

President Donald Trump has said at rallies, debates and press conferences that a vaccine could arrive within weeks. “We think we can start sometime in October,” Trump said at a White House press briefing last month.

Kadlec wasn’t the first health official to counter the president’s optimistic timeline. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Thursday that there could be 100 million vaccine doses available by the end of the year “pending FDA authorizations.” And Dr. Moncef Slaoui, who is leading the government’s vaccine effort, told Marketwatch on Friday that researchers could know “by late October, or November, or in December” whether one of the vaccines in development is effective, but that it would then take weeks to get emergency authorization to administer it.

It’s official. Every time residents of Danbury, Conn., flush, they will be sending their special deliveries to the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant.

The City Council voted 181 Thursday night to rename the sewage plant after the comedian, who began a tongue-incheek battle with Danbury when he went on an expletivefilled rant against the city on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” in August.

Mayor Mark Boughton didn’t waste any time responding on social media. He posted a video of himself at the sewage plant saying the city was going to name it after Oliver.

“Why?” the Republican mayor asked. “Because it’s full of crap just like you, John.”

That drew a delighted response from Oliver, but he went off against the city again because Boughton later said he was just joking.

Oliver upped the stakes on his Aug. 30 show by offering to donate $55,000 to local charities if Danbury actually followed through with renaming the plant.

“I didn’t know that I wanted my name on your (expletive) factory but now that you floated it as an option, it is all that I want,” Oliver said.

Boughton said Friday that the feud has been a good distraction from the coronavirus and other troubles of the times. He also said Oliver’s promised donations have helped spur local fundraising efforts for area food banks that could end up collecting a few hundred thousand dollars to feed needy families.

The mayor added he will be offering tours of the sewer plant for $500 donations to local food pantries.

“I think it’s been a home run. It’s been a lot of fun,” Boughton said of the spat. “If I can put food on people’s table for Thanksgiving by naming a sewer plant after a very popular comedian, we’ll do it all day long.”

Oliver has offered to provide the new sign for the plant that includes his name, as well as attend the ribbon-cutting, Boughton said. A timeline has not been finalized.