April 11 (UPI) – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner and current board member of Pfizer, said Sunday that the U.S. supply of vaccines will soon exceed demand.
Gottlieb told CBS News’ Face the nation that the United States should maintain its plan to deliver doses to states based on population, as it expects supply to outstrip demand in three weeks.
“I think a lot of states will see themselves with over-supply and over-appointments. So it will be a shame, look back with hindsight and realize that we probably should have introduced more vaccine in some of these hot spots. to turn them off sooner, ”he said.
The United States has reported a total of 31,189,567 cases of COVID-19 and 562,059 deaths since the start of the pandemic as of Sunday, both the world’s highest totals, while 66,533 infections and 709 were reported. deaths as of Saturday, according to data collected. by Johns Hopkins University. The country has also administered a total of 183,467,709 doses of vaccine, with 35.3% of the population receiving at least one dose and 21.3% fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gottlieb’s comments came amid an increase in virus cases in Michigan, as the state, which does not report COVID-19 data on Sunday, added 6,892 new cases and 74 deaths on Saturday, after reported 7,834 cases on Friday for a total of 738,023 cases and 16,500 cases since the start of the pandemic.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Sunday Face the nation has called on the White House to provide additional vaccines to the state to combat the increase and has called on the state to take a two-week “pause”, including urging institutes to suspend face-to-face classes, youth sports games and covered dinners and meetings.
“Right now, we know we have an even bigger capacity. We could have more vaccines in our arms. And when there is an increase, we think it’s important to hurry to meet where that need is, because what’s happening in Michigan today could whatever happens tomorrow in other states, ”Whitmer said.
Gottlieb said the White House should adopt the habit of increasing COVID-19 resources to hot spots.
“They never perceived that there would be a confluent national epidemic, but yes there will be localized outbreaks,” he said. “In fact, this is probably what we will see in the future. We will not see a confluent epidemic, but we will see these hotspots, so we must have a habit of trying to increase resources at these hotspots to put out those spreads. “.
Elsewhere, Los Angeles opened vaccination appointments for residents over the age of 16 as the state prepares to expand eligibility for the vaccine to members of that group.
California reported 4,954 new cases and 105 deaths on Sunday, noting that the count includes cases from previous months that had not been accounted for. Since the start of the pandemic, California has led the nation with 3,600,178 cases and 59,218 deaths.
To date, California has administered 22,777,893 doses of vaccine with 6,294,860 people fully vaccinated.
Texas ranks second in cases, with 2,422,139 since the start of the pandemic, along with 48,211 deaths after reporting 1,516 new cases and 26 fatalities Sunday. The state has administered 14,312,547 doses of vaccine with 5,613,265 people fully vaccinated.
Florida, in third place, reported 5,520 new infections and seven fatalities on Sunday, bringing the total to 2,124,233 cases and 34,021 deaths of residents. Florida has administered 11,161,697 doses of vaccine with 4,400,166 people fully vaccinated.
New York ranks fourth in the country with 1,949,964 cases and second in 51,036 deaths since the start of the pandemic, as it added 6,764 new positive tests and 53 deaths on Sunday. New York has administered 11,811,282 doses of vaccine and 4,871,118 people have been completely vaccinated.
Illinois has the fifth highest total number of COVID-19 cases at 1,279,772 along with 21,505 deaths totaling 2,942 infections and 16 deaths on Sunday. A total of 7,047,326 vaccines against COVID-19 have been administered in the state and 2,853,739 people have been completely vaccinated.