Covid-19 vaccination plan 'not working,' former FDA official warns

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Mon, 2021-01-11 09:49 — mike kraft

Covid-19 vaccination plan 'not working,' former FDA official warns With Covid-19 hospitalizations surpassing 100,000 for 40 days in a row, officials are trying to ramp up the pace of vaccinations across the United States. Madeline Holcombe, CNN CNN

(CNN) With Covid-19 hospitalizations surpassing 100,000 for 40 days in a row, officials are trying to ramp up the pace of vaccinations across the United States.

"We really need to get this vaccine out more quickly, because this is really our only tool," Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

On Sunday, 129,229 people were in US hospitals with coronavirus, but the day marked only the sixth highest in pandemic history, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

Experts have long said the best defenses against surging cases are preventative measures like masks and social distancing, as well as widespread vaccination. So far, at least 22.1 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been distributed and nearly 6.7 million have made their way into patients' arms. Health officials had hoped to get 20 million people vaccinated at the start of the new year, but the administration of vaccines has undergone delays and roadblocks.

"We need to acknowledge that it's not working," Gottlieb said Sunday of the vaccination plan. "We need to hit the reset and adopt a new strategy in trying to get that out to patients."

Gottlieb's warning came just days after the US crossed a grim threshold for the first time -- reporting more than 4,000 new Covid-19 deaths in a single day on Thursday. Since the pandemic began, more than 374,000 people have died in the US and more than 22.4 million people have been infected, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. ..

California, an epicenter of the pandemic in the US, added 49,685 new cases on Sunday alone, bringing the total number of cases in the state since the pandemic began to more than 2.6 million.

Starting Monday, the state will boost its vaccine rollout to include health care workers, nursing home residents and staff, and those living in congregate settings such as assisted living or shelters, according to new guidance from the state health department. ...

In New York City, officials are hoping to expand access through vaccination sites. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday that three additional 24/7 vaccination sites would open this week...

ALSO SEE: Biden dresses down his Covid team over plans to speed vaccinations

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