U.S. coronavirus: Reducing Covid-19 cases is the best the U.S. can do to improve the chances of vaccines continuing to work, according to the expert

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“The best we could do to improve the chances of the vaccine continuing to work as we hope it will be is to reduce the cases to the maximum without these reductions occurring as a result of the vaccine-derived immunity,” said Dr . Michael Mina, an epidemiologist and immunologist at Harvard School of Public Health TH Chan, said during an event Tuesday.

The United States on Tuesday reported more than 59,500 new cases of Covid-19, far short of the six-figure totals it reported just a month ago. But experts warn that these infection figures remain high and could see another increase if Americans lower their guard.

Therefore, measures such as masks and social distancing continue to play a key role, because if the virus continues to circulate at high levels, it will likely come in contact with people who have been vaccinated and try to infect them, Mina said.

“The more opportunities we give the virus to get in touch with someone who is immune, the more opportunities there are for the virus to find a way to remove that level of immunity and these antibodies,” Mina added.

Scientists have already identified several variants circulating in the United States and are particularly concerned about strain B.1.1.7, a highly contagious variant first detected in the United Kingdom. A study has recently found that variant cases are increasing rapidly in the United States and significant community transmissions may already be occurring.

More than 1,270 cases of the variant have been reported in 41 states and Washington, DC, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About a third of those cases are in Florida, according to CDC data.

But the agency has said it probably does not account for the total number of cases across the country and has recently worked to increase its genome sequencing efforts to identify variants.

On Tuesday, Quest Diagnostics announced it would also conduct sequencing testing to support CDC efforts to track mutations, adding that the company had already doubled the amount of genomic sequencing it began performing last month.

Fauci changes the vaccination schedule for the American public

The United States also faces vaccine challenges.

More than 39 million people have so far received at least the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to CDC data. About 15 million people, about 4.5 percent of the U.S. population, have been completely vaccinated, according to the data.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Tuesday that it could now be mid-late May or early June before vaccines become available to the general population, changing the schedule from previous estimates that placed the widespread availability of vaccines in late April.

“It is expected that (the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) will have considerably more doses than we now know they will have,” Fauci said. “So this chronology is likely to last perhaps until mid-late May and early June.”

CNN has learned that if it gets the green light from the Food and Drug Administration, the launch of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be slower than officials initially expected.

The administration expects millions of single-digit doses for the vaccine if it is authorized for emergency use. However, due to poor communication on the production timeline, government officials thought the number would increase by 20 to 30 million doses in April. But they now expect less than 20 million doses in April, an administration official told CNN.

Aside from that, President Joe Biden promised on Tuesday that 600 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine would be available for the country by the end of July, “enough to vaccinate all Americans.”

The president’s promise follows his announcement earlier this month that the United States will have enough vaccines for 300 million Americans by the end of July, with the help of additional vaccine purchases the government made at Pfizer and Moderna.
“What will happen is that it will continue to increase as we move forward. We will have reached 400 million doses by the end of May and 600 million by the end of July,” Biden said at a CNN town hall event.

More vaccine challenges: inequality, time and lack of supply

Other difficulties the United States is working to overcome include inequity in vaccine distribution, cold weather, and resource scarcity.

New York City officials said Tuesday they were working to combat the disparities in the Covid-19 vaccine, building on efforts that have focused on spreading some of the region’s hardest-hit communities.

But recently released data shows “the magnitude of the challenge we face,” said Dr. Torian Easterling, first deputy commissioner and director general of equity for the city’s health department.

“There’s a much smaller proportion of vaccines for black and brown New Yorkers. We see that these geographic disparities are also occurring,” Easterling said, adding that the South Bronx, parts of Central Queens and Central Brooklyn, lags behind in vaccinations.

Cities and states delay distribution of Covid-19 vaccine due to winter storms
Meanwhile, fierce winter storms that have triggered cold and dangerous weather have halted vaccinations across the country.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday, vaccine shipments that will be delivered to state suppliers directly from Pfizer and Moderna could be delayed a day or two due to the weather. In Georgia, health officials said they also expected delays in the arrival of vaccines, adding that many providers and health departments were forced to reschedule vaccine appointments.

In some parts of the country, supply problems are holding back fire.

Beaumont’s health care system in Michigan canceled more than 1,880 second-dose appointments that were scheduled for Thursday after it learned of an “unexpected and significant reduction” in Pfizer vaccine allocation by the State, according to system officials in a press release.

“The health system is working to automatically reschedule all canceled appointments a week later at the same time and day of the week, as long as the state provides enough vaccine,” the statement said. “Beaumont is also seeking more clarity from the state about these much-needed second doses.”

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin said the state worked with Beaumont Health over the past week to reconcile the shortage of second doses, adding that it was “unfortunate that they chose to cancel second dose appointments while we continue working with them on this issue “.

CNN’s Amanda Sealy, Kaitlan Collins, Maggie Fox, Chris Boyette, Rebekah Riess, Amanda Watts, Sara Murray, Naomi Thomas and Michael Nedelman contributed to this report.

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