90K deaths projected in next 4 weeks

WASHINGTON » The Biden administration launched its new level-with-America health briefings Wednesday with a projection that as many as 90,000 more in the U.S. will die from the coronavirus in the next four weeks — a sobering warning as the government strains to improve delivery and injection of vaccines.

The tone of the hourlong briefing was in line with President Joe Biden’s promise to be straight with the nation about the state of the outbreak that has already claimed more than 425,000 U.S. lives. The deaths projection wasn’t much different from what Biden himself has said, but nonetheless served as a stark reminder of the brutal road ahead.

“I know this is not news we all want to hear, but this is something we must say so we are all aware,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “If we are united in action we can turn things around.”

Wednesday’s briefing was conducted virtually, with no shortage of technical glitches and audio gaps. Administration officials appeared on Zoom from separate locations, in keeping with the Biden administration’s efforts to model best practices for safe work habits in the pandemic.

One by one, the officials laid out administration efforts to contain the virus, speed vaccinations and bring Americans along with the effort..

“The White House respects and will follow the science, and the scientists will speak independently,” promised Andy Slavitt, a senior administration adviser on the pandemic.

Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus coordinator, said the Biden administration was examining additional ways of speeding vaccine production, a day after the president announced the U.S. plans to provide states with enough doses for 300 million Americans by the end of summer.

But actually injecting those shots is another matter.

Zients noted that the federal Department of Health and Human Services acted Wednesday to make more people available to administer vaccinations. The government will authorize retired nurses and doctors, and professionals licensed in one state will be able to give shots in other states.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said there was reason to be concerned about the impact of some coronavirus mutations on vaccines, but he also said scientists have plenty of options for adjustments to maintain effectiveness.

Fauci said there was particular concern about the so-called South

African variant, because lab tests have shown it can diminish the protective power of the vaccines approved to date. He stressed that the level of protection provided was still well within what he called the “cushion” of vaccine effectiveness, but added that the government was working with pharmaceutical companies on potential “booster” shots for the new variants.

Walensky said her agency’s latest forecast indicates the U.S. will reach between 479,000 and 514,000 deaths by Feb. 20.

The new briefings, beginning just a week into Biden’s tenure, are meant as an explicit rejection of President Donald Trump’s approach to the outbreak.

Stakes for Biden could hardly be higher. He is pushing a weary populace to recommit to social distancing and mask wearing, pointing to models that suggest the practices could save 50,000 lives over coming months.

WHITE HOUSE VIA AP In this image from video, Jeff Zients, White House coronavirus response coordinator, speaks as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president., Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, chair of the COVID-19 health equity task force, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the White House COVID-19 Response Team,, appear on screen during a White House briefing on the Biden administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic Jan. 27 in Washington.