WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The White House COVID-19 Response Team says the U.S is making major progress in the fight against COVID.
“By the end of May, we’ll have enough vaccine supply for every adult who wants one,” White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zeints said.
Zeints says hitting 200 million vaccines in the President’s first 100 days is a huge step forward.
“This significant progress in a short period of time is a direct result of our deliberate whole of government, war time effort,” Zeints said.
More than 52% of adults and more than 80% of people 65 years and older have received the first shot.
“Going forward, we expect daily vaccination rates will moderate and fluctuate,” Zeints said.
As vaccinations go up, the number of COVID-19 cases has started to trend down throughout the country.
“62,500 per day. This is a 10% drop in average cases from the prior week and a hopeful trend,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
Walensky says there is plenty to celebrate, but we are not out of the woods yet.
“We also have the potential, indeed the need, to do more to protect people now,” Walensky said.
Walensky says they are working to combat vaccine hesitancy and hope a potential return to use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will help those efforts.
“I do think that there’s plenty of people who are interested in the J&J vaccine if just for convenience as well as for a single dose option.”
