The nation’s surgeon general Tuesday urged governors to “move quickly” to other priority groups amid a sluggish COVID-19 vaccine rollout in some states, saying “we don’t need to recreate the wheel, we just need to get it rolling.”
In an interview on NBC’s “Today” show, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams declared “We need to make sure we're getting the supply to where the demand is.
“You have some states that still haven't distributed more than 25% of their vaccine,” he said.
“I really want to tell people the three things we're doing … we're going to increase funding … more locations [for vaccinations] … and more priority groups.
“So your headline today really should be 'Surgeon General tells states and governors to move quickly to other priority groups,'” he said. “If the demand isn't there in 1a, go to 1b and continue on down. If the demand isn't there in one location, move those vaccines to another location.”
Adams said he “absolutely” agrees with former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who’s calling for major pharmacies to start administering the vaccine now, and not wait until spring.
“I’ve also talked with CVS and Walgreens … they're ramped up and ready to go,” he said. “And we can send those vaccines to those pharmacies if the governors in the states tell us to, which is again why the headline needs to be: ‘Governors, states, quickly move from 1a to 1b to 1c.’ Get those vaccines where they're going to be taken up.”
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