Lead infectious disease expert Dr. Fauci seemed very optimistic this week, as his plans for vaccinating the country are under way. With President Joe Biden aiming for 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days in office, when speaking with the Associated Press Dr. Fauci regarded this goal as “a very realistic, important, achievable goal.” He also mentioned that in order to achieve “herd immunity”, which is when enough people are protected from the virus that it is difficult to spread, 280 million Americans would need to be vaccinated. He hopes to reach this number by next fall, and is looking forward to this implementation. Claiming the lives of upwards of 356,000 Americans, the Coronavirus has not been easy to tackle, but Fauci is hopeful that by next fall “you could start thinking about returning to some degree of normality.” 

Many states’ governors are already thinking about how to make good use of all the vaccines provided. The Trump Administration’s attempt at vaccinating 20 million people fell short as some states were unable to get to everybody, thus, many vaccines were going to waste. Governors are thinking of fining those who are not moving quickly enough, and others are wanting to aid dispensaries by allowing them to vaccinate non-prioritized citizens if there is a danger of vaccines going to waste. Lastly, in regards to the newer, more contagious, variety of covid, Fauci said that he and his team are “going to follow it very carefully.” He also mentioned that it is not the dominant version of the virus, and still recommends that Americans keep following the same protocol as before. 

Source: PBS NewsHour