All US adults to be eligible for shots by May 1
Federal health officials have directed states to make all adults eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccination by May 1, said Andy Slavitt, the White House senior adviser for COVID-19 response, on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the directive days after President Joe Biden set the target date, and a goal that on July 4 Americans will “not only mark out independence as a nation but our independence from this virus.”
Nearly 143 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and more than 111 million have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 15% of U.S. adults are now fully vaccinated and 28% have had at least one dose, the CDC says.
The White House says that more than 22 million vaccine doses will be distributed in the next seven days, a new high that would send the daily average over 3 million for the first time.
Also Wednesday, Massachusetts and Iowa announced plans to open up vaccination appointments to all adults next month, joining a growing list of states removing eligibility requirements as doses become more readily available.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker unveiled a timeline Wednesday calling for everyone over 60 and certain workers to be offered appointments starting March 22. People age 55 and over and those with certain medical conditions can join the line on April 5. All requirements will be dropped April 19, Baker said in a statement.
Iowa will open up eligibility to all residents April 5, contingent on the state receiving the increase in doses it’s expecting, Gov. Kim Reynolds said. Mississippi and Alaska are already vaccinating anyone who signs up. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said his state will do so within two weeks, and Connecticut is starting April 5.
Virus variants spread accelerating across the nation
Cases of coronavirus variants are exploding across the United States, with more than 1,000 new cases reported in a five-day span, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The United States now has 4,855 known variant cases, up 27% in less than a week. The variants the CDC tracks – mostly one first detected in the United Kingdom, but also ones first detected in South Africa and Brazil – can spread more easily and dodge some treatments and immunities. Some variants also appear more likely to kill their victims, researchers say.
The national tally of known variant cases has already doubled in March, even as all coronavirus cases have been falling across much of the nation.
The U.S. has over 29.5 million overall confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 537,500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 120 million cases and 2.67 million deaths.
WHO official backs AstraZeneca vaccine, says clots are ‘very rare’
People should feel comfortable getting the AstraZeneca vaccine, even if health authorities turn up a link to “very rare” blood clots, a top World Health Organization expert said Wednesday. Dr. Kate O’Brien, who heads WHO’s department of immunizations and vaccines, said the U.N. health agency and the European Medicines Agency are trying to investigate whether the vaccine has anything to do with the clots. The potential side effect has prompted some countries to temporarily suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. A WHO panel is reviewing the data.
“I think the reassurance to the public is that regardless of whether or not the committee ultimately assesses that there may be an association between these events and the vaccine, that in any event, these are very rare events,” O’Brien said.
Many U.S. experts also are bullish on the AstraZeneca vaccine, although it has not yet been authorized for emergency use here. Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, warned that the suspensions create a perception that vaccines are dangerous. “The only way out of this pandemic is by vaccination,” he said.