Anthony Stephen Fauci, Andrew M. Slavitt, and Rochelle Paula Walensky

“ So no matter what math you use, we will have enough vaccine doses. We do need people to actually get vaccinated. We do need everybody that’s been doing this enormously important work to keep doing it. And if we do that, we should be in a position right around then, when the adult population will have the vaccines they need.
Now, if you’re asking questions about our supply, we have indicated that there are other pieces of our supply that are important to us, and Dr. Fauci has mentioned this several times: teenagers, adolescence, children, potential booster shots down the road, other things. ”

“ We know that people are not looking to be convinced by the government or by some other entity; they want to have conversations with people locally in their community, whether it’s a doctor, their pharmacist, or other people that they trust. And our job — and I think the CDC had been doing a marvelous job at this — is to get reliable information out to people. ”

“ As President Biden said, recovering from a devastating pandemic will require all of us doing our part. We are not out of the woods, but we know what we need to do as a country. The President has now laid down some markers about steps to move our country back to normal activities with a fully vaccinated population, provided we all work together. ”

“ With the American Recovery Act signed into law last week, Americans will finally get the support they need — most immediately, in the form of checks to American households and relief to Americans and small businesses under so much pressure from the pandemic.
Nearly 30 percent of adults and nearly two thirds of seniors have now received their first vaccination shot. And we are accelerating vaccinations in anticipation of meeting the President’s goal of being ready to be — open up all vaccinations to all adults by May 1st at the latest. ”

“ And the Biden administration stands ready to work with states who are interested in increasing their Medicaid reimbursement rates for vaccinations so that we can make sure that we have most effectively reached vulnerable communities. This is an important health equity step, as working and lower-income Americans have faced the brunt of this crisis and must receive the resources needed to protect them. ”

“ We also found that 96 percent of people who got both doses did so within the recommended timeframe: on or within four days of the 21 days for the Pfizer vaccine and 28 days for the Moderna vaccine.
These findings are incredibly reassuring as we continue to scale up our vaccination efforts. They show that our systems are working and that people are taking vaccination seriously, even when it means taking time to show up for their second appointment. It is remarkable what we can do as a nation when we are united against the virus. ”

“ Is there anything under discussion at the federal level to provide some type of vaccine, for want of a better word, “passport”? ACTING ADMINISTRATOR SLAVITT: Yeah, let me take this, Elizabeth. It’s an important question as more people get vaccinated. Americans are asking the question: How will I be able to demonstrate, reliably, that I’ve been vaccinated?And, you know, we have a couple of core beliefs about that. One is that it’s not the role of the government to hold that data and to do that. But we do believe that when that gets done, there is a right way and a way that’s not as good. ”

“ Well, look, I think CMS — who focuses on making sure that our nation’s seniors and our nation’s — people who live on low and fixed incomes are getting access to the same high-quality care that they deserve and that others in the country should get — determined that an additional level of reimbursement was going to increase vaccination rates, particularly in hard-to-reach communities. ”

“ The six feet data came from early studies, with and without masks, from all other — from respiratory viruses, flu viruses, as well as SARS, and other coronavirus — the MERS virus that Dr. Fauci just spoke about — and how distant air — how far aerosols and droplets can travel in that context.As soon as we put out our guidance, among the biggest challenges that we were aware of was the fact that schools were having a hard time with the six foot guidance, and that, of course, prompted more studies to say: Is six feet necessary in the context of mask wearing? ”

“ Fauci has indicated, of research into them.
And many Americans got vaccinated early. And the people who I think have been watching this and seeing the process and seeing how it has had an impact on them and in their communities, that it increasingly makes them want to take the vaccination.
So we believe this is edu- — in some respects, the easiest education effort ever is if we let people see the truth and not get information on, say, Facebook, or somewhere where there’s less reliable information. People are capable of making these decisions for themselves. ”

“ But it’s most important that the people who are the local, trusted people continue to have the reliable information about these vaccines. And we believe that will continue the pattern that’s already begun, which is that more and more people will be comfortable taking the vaccine. ”

“ And it is with that that the President indicated that if we all do our part, by the 4th of July, we should be able to take the really important step to bringing the things to people — the events in our lives — back into our lives. ”

“ They’re updated every day. I can tell you that 37.45 million people have received two doses of — are fully vaccinated, and that 107.6 million people have been — have received at least one dose of a vaccine. I don’t have, off the top of my head, the racial breakdown this morning, but that is available on the CDC website.I think we still have a lot to learn with regard to why, you know, some communities are not choosing to be vaccinated. Some communities are more hesitant. ”

“ Today, I think the latest data shows — from, I believe, Pew — that 69 percent of Americans are definitive in saying that they either have taken — have had a vaccine or plan to take a vaccine. That’s significantly higher. It’s at least 10 points higher than it was a short while ago and more significant than from when the Biden administration began.We think this is for a number of reasons. ”

“ First.And secondly, if we use the number of shots that we are getting on a daily basis, the number of new cases, and the number of people who have been fully vaccinated, can you all — using those metrics — give us a better idea of when we’ll either reach herd immunity or be in the clear? ”

“ So as we report these numbers out, this is to report on the progress and the very hard work of tens of thousands of people, but it’s — by no means should be perceived as declaring victory. There’s much more — much more work to do. ”

“ This largest shift occurred among people aged exactly 75 when more than 1 million individuals previously classified as 75 were reclassified as age 74. This should not be concerning as we’re vaccinating exactly the right cohorts, and those people will be 75 sometime in the next 12 months. ”