There are "no excuses" about the discrepancies in COVID-19 vaccine availability from one state to another, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday.
"There is a lot of discrepancy and disparities between the ease with which one can get vaccinated depending where you are," Fauci, now the chief medical adviser for President Joe Biden's efforts against the coronavirus pandemic, said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "We've got to investigate that and we've got to fix it. We really do."
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said he's talked to city leaders around the country who have either reported not having enough doses of vaccine or have reported that there is too much of it to use.
The priority is to get as many doses out as possible, he added, but also to have a priority that people get their second dose of the medication on time.
Meanwhile, the president said Monday that he thinks anyone who wants a vaccine could get one by spring, but other estimates say that won't happen until fall. Fauci, however, said there is not as much apparent discrepancy in the statements as it might seem.
"Logistically, by the time you get doses into everyone who might want it, it will take several months, which will go into the end of the summer," he said "I have been saying that probably by the end of the summer you could get everybody vaccinated. The availability for people in any category will likely be by April."
He reiterated that even after people are vaccinated, they should wear masks because it's not known yet if they can still spread infection. Further, Fauci said that the estimates show that herd immunity won't occur until between 70% and 85% of people are vaccinated.
Fauci also commented on Biden's decision for the United States to return to the World Health Organization, saying it's necessary to coordinate response for the pandemic for a global pandemic. However, he acknowledged the WHO needs to have some reforms.
"We should put their feet to the fire about getting reforms, but to be completely out of that circuit I don't think is productive when you are dealing with a global pandemic," said Fauci.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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