Anthony Stephen Fauci, Rochelle Paula Walensky, and Jeffrey Dunston Zients

“ Today we’re announcing another action we’re taking to ensure an equitable response. In the month of March, we will begin to deliver millions of masks to food banks and community health centers around the country. These are nationwide networks that serve populations hit hard by the pandemic. While masks are widely available in many different shapes and sizes, many low-income Americans still lack affordable access to this basic protection. That’s why we’re taking this important action to keep Americans safe. ”

“ We’re keeping equity at the front and center of our response, partnering with states, tribes, and territories to increase vaccinations in the hardest-hit and hardest-to-reach communities — increasing supply to convenient and trusted locations, like community health centers; deploying mobile units to meet people where they are; and improving data collection so that we have a better understanding of the inequities currently experienced. ”

“ First, trust and community confidence are cornerstones of our national vaccine efforts. Trusted voices are critical to building confidence in vaccines and addressing misinformation. Our community leaders are often those trusted voices.
We heard from national, state, and local health leaders about communication and public education campaigns they are deploying to combat myths and disinformation, and instill confidence and interest in COVID-19 vaccines, as well as tools and strategies healthcare providers can use when talking with their patients about COVID-19 vaccination. ”

“ We also heard about successful public-private partnerships, like in San Diego, where vaccination “super sites,” like the one in Petco Park Stadium, are vaccinating thousands of people a day; and in Colorado, where there is a government-private partnership — the Champions for Vaccine Equity task force — where the health department and 10 medical Champions of color are working with and through community-based organizations to create opportunities for listening and sharing information about COVID-19 vaccines. ”

“ So, with 14.5 million doses allocated to states, tribes, and territories and 2.1 million through the federal Retail Pharmacy Program, we’ve nearly doubled weekly supply of doses in just five weeks.
Second, we’re mobilizing teams to get shots in arms. We’ve deployed over 800 federal personnel as vaccinators. And the federal government is now funding 1,200 National Guard members to serve as vaccinators. We’ve also deployed 1,000 federal personnel to support community vaccination sites in operational and support roles.
Third, we continue creating more places where Americans can get vaccinated. ”

“ As we encourage people to continue to mask up, we’re focused on vaccinating people quickly and equitably.
Today, I will give you the latest update on our execution on vaccinations in the three key areas that we’re focused on: more vaccine supply, more vaccinators, and more places to get vaccinated.
First, on vaccine supply: Yesterday, we announced the fifth consecutive week of supply increases to states, tribes, and territories, from 8.6 million doses when we took office to 14.5 million doses this week. ”

“ That goal, when we set it, was an ambitious goal. Many people talked about one that we would have real trouble reaching. So far, we are pacing ahead of that goal. The President pushes us every day to figure out everything we can do as a whole-of-government effort partnering with governors, local health officials, and others to do all we can to vaccinate as many Americans as fast, efficiently, and as, importantly, equitably as possible. So we view the 100 million shots in 100 days as a floor, and we, you know, intend to exceed that goal.
On masks, the cost will be $86 million. ”

“ Yes. So let me do the second question about allocation. We talked to the governors yesterday as part of their preparation, and we’re talking to the pharmacies and the community health centers, our federal partners about the allocation being — mirroring the current allocation. So the same percentage is going through each channel.You know, across time, we’ll monitor channels, make sure channels are performing in two ways: efficiency and also fairness and equity, so future allocations across channels could be changed based on performance. ”

“ Finally, I want to say that we are proud to be partners in the announcement made today about sending masks to underserved and vulnerable populations. One of the most impactful things we can do is wear a mask, and this is so important during this critical period where cases are declining but variants that spread more easily are increasing throughout our country. ”