Anthony Stephen Fauci, Marcella Nunez-Smith, Andrew M. Slavitt and Rochelle Paula Walensky

“ The recommendations issued today are just a first step. As more people get vaccinated and the science and evidence expands, and as the disease dynamics of this country change, we will continue to update this guidance.
Importantly, our guidance must balance the risk to people who have been fully vaccinated, the risks to those who have not yet received a vaccine, and the impact on the larger community transmission of COVID-19 with what we all recognize to be the overall benefits of resuming everyday activities and getting back to something — to some of the things we love in life. ”

“ When fully vaccinated people visit with unvaccinated people, we have to consider the underlying risks of the unvaccinated people and any unvaccinated members of their household. We take this approach because all of our guidance is rooted in making sure we are keeping people safe.
So, CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people can visit with unvaccinated people from one other household, indoors, without wearing masks or physical distancing, as long as the unvaccinated people and any unvaccinated members of their household are not at high risk for severe COVID-19 disease. ”

“ However, we remain in the midst of a serious pandemic and still over 90 percent of our population is not fully vaccinated, though we are working hard to get there. Therefore, everyone, whether vaccinated or not, should continue to avoid medium- and large-sized gatherings, as well as nonessential travel, and, when in public spaces, should continue to wear a well-fitted mask, physically distance, and follow other public health measures to protect themselves and others. ”

“ So, like many of you, we’ve also seen a lot of conversation about vaccine confidence, about how some communities — due to a range of historical, as well as contemporary factors — are less inclined to believe that these vaccines are safe and effective, less inclined to trust the systems offering these vaccines, and less inclined to trust the government asking them to get vaccinated. So we still have some work to do to meet people where they are. ”

“ We only have race ethnicity data for 53 percent of those who have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This varies widely among the states, as you can see on the next slide. And we’re not getting from individuals, from providers, and from states the critical information about who has access to these three lifesaving vaccines that need to be equitably distributed across our country.
So I want to emphasize here: It is possible to do better. The final slide shows us the information that providers and states are reporting to us on the age of people who they’re vaccinating. ”

“ It demonstrates government once again is working for the people.
On that very same Saturday, we set a new record for single-day recorded vaccinations. We are vaccinating a seven-day average of nearly 2.2 million Americans a day, up from about 900,000 when we came into office. Saturday was as high as 2.9 million doses reported administered — a new daily record — and we’re at a pace seen nowhere else around the world. This is a function of everyone executing to their fullest, and it depends on vaccination sites being open late and the tireless effort of vaccinators. ”

“ Every time that there’s a surge in travel, we have a surge in cases in this country. We know that many of our variants have emerged from international places, and we know that the travel corridor is a place where people are mixing a lot. We are really trying to restrain travel at this current period of time, and we’re hopeful that our next set of guidance will have more science around what vaccinated people can do, perhaps travel being among them. ”

“ Now our success depends on our ability to build a robust and coordinated effort at the local, state, and federal level to overcome all of the dynamics that are in place, and this moment absolutely calls for that kind of effort. ”

“ These numbers show us that the pandemic still remains a very serious situation with the most communities continuing to have high levels of COVID-19 transmission. We are watching these data closely to see where the pandemic will head in the coming days.
But I’m also hopeful. As of today, 59 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and approximately 31 million or 9.2 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, putting us on a strong path to eventually end this pandemic. ”

“ One was one that Pfizer is pursuing, where they’re talking about giving a third dose against the wild-type virus to boost up the level of neutralizing antibodies. The parameter there will be taking a look at what the level of boost of antibody, because we do know from in vitro studies that when you get a high level of antibody against the wild-type, it gives you a cushion of effect against the variant.And the second third boost is one that we are doing in collaboration with Moderna, where the boost will actually be a boost of a vaccine that is directed specifically against the variant. ”

“ Is it the fact that enough — not enough people are vaccinated just yet to get there?And then can you just provide potentially a step of, sort of, what the next set of guidance is going to be and what the triggers would be for — you know, for people who are fully vaccinated being advised to be able to remove their masks in public and, you know, go about a somewhat normal life? ”

“ And we’re going to prioritize those pharmacies that do a better job addressing equity.
And finally, we rolled out our federal community health centers partnership program. And over the past three weeks, we have been onboarding the first 250 centers. They collectively serve 12.5 million people and span all 50 states. You know, as a whole, these community health centers provide services for large numbers of public housing residents, people of color, and individuals with limited English proficiency. ”

“ If grandparents have been vaccinated, they can visit their daughter and her family, even if they have not been vaccinated, so long as the daughter and her family are not at risk for severe disease. They are solid orange circles. ”

“ Over the years of intensive study — next slide — each of those vulnerable targets has led to a different class of a highly effective antiretroviral drug, including the reverse transcriptase inhibitors, the protease inhibitors, the integrase inhibitors, and the fusion and entry inhibitors. ”