Washington – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Sunday that coronavirus vaccines currently being distributed in the United States should provide “reasonable protection” against new strains detected in the United Kingdom. South Africa and Brazil.
“I believe that existing vaccines will offer reasonable protection against these new variants. And we can also develop in a timely manner, perhaps in four or six months, a consensual strain that will be baked in different variation that we are seeing that has drivers available for the fall, “Gottlieb said in an interview with” Face the Nation. ” “So I think there’s a reasonable chance we’ll be able to stay ahead of this virus as it mutates.”
Gottlieb said that, as a “general rule,” vaccines can be assumed to be about 20 percent less effective against new strains from Brazil and South Africa. But he stressed that even if there is a reduction in its effectiveness, “you still get very good protection” against mRNA vaccines, such as the Moderna and Pfizer shots, which were approved by the FDA.
The new variants, which are circulating worldwide, were identified in the last months of 2020 and early 2021 and have since been detected in the United States. The UK strain, B.1.1.7, has been found in 33 states, while the South African strain, B.1.351, has been found in two states. Meanwhile, the Brazilian variant, P.1, has been detected in one state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the United States, southern Florida and southern California have emerged as hot spots for the UK strain, which public health officials say is more contagious. In South Florida, the new variant accounts for between 5% and 10% of infections, and in Southern California, approximately 5% of infections are the strain of the United Kingdom. But for the rest of the country, Gottlieb said the variant is less than 1% of infections.
“I think, for the most part across the country, it’s probably too little, too late,” he said. “We will probably advance it with our vaccines and the seasonal effect of warm weather.”
New coronavirus strains have underscored the need to speed up the pace of vaccine distribution, and the Biden administration has taken steps to get more shots into the arms of Americans more quickly, including sending doses directly to retail pharmacies.
Gottlieb said the new administration “has made great strides” in the distribution of vaccines, as it delivered up to 2 million doses of vaccine in a few days. He predicted in late March that there will be 250 million vaccines delivered to the market if the Johnson & Johnson single-dose coronavirus vaccine receives an authorization for emergency use from the FDA, with 100 million of more vaccines in April.
“If you assume a distribution of 60 to 40 between the first doses and the second doses, assume that approximately 60% of the supply that reaches the market will go to the first doses. By the end of March, we will have 150 million vaccines in the April, 60 million more, ”he said. “We’re going to run out of demand. I mean, I think we need to start thinking soon on the demand side of this equation.”
In addition to promising to administer 100 million doses of vaccine in his first 100 days in office, President Biden also pledged to open most schools in that time period. The CDC is expected to present guidelines this week on the safe reopening of schools, and CDC principal Dr. Rochelle Walensky suggested Wednesday that vaccinating teachers is not a “prerequisite” for returning children to school. classrooms.
Gottlieb said implementing mitigation steps, such as putting on masks, keeping your distance and taking precautions in the classroom, should be a condition for opening schools.
“Schools are not a vector of transmission and, above all, children under the age of 14 are less likely to become infected and transmit the infection,” he said. “I think it would certainly be good to be able to prioritize teachers to vaccinate them, so they don’t run the risk of getting the infection and spreading the infection. But I don’t think it’s necessarily a prerequisite. I think schools have. demonstrated that they can open safely if they take precautions in the classroom. “