Covid Vaccine Talk Getting Louder

U-S Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says bringing about the end of the coronavirus pandemic depends on Americans getting vaccinated.

Previously Americans were told that wearing a face mask,  staying at least 6 feet away from other people, and washing their hands would be enough to keep them safe from the virus.

But surges of the virus in the summer of 2020 and again in the autumn of 2020, indicate the virus is spreading in every state.

So, Azar  is urging  Americans to educate themselves now about the vaccines and the testing those vaccines have gone through.

Dr. Moncef Slaoui  is the Chief Adviser to Operation Warp Speed and he said it’s possible to get 100-million people vaccinated by the end of February.

There are 330 million people in the United States, and getting just one-third of them vaccinated in a 3 month period, would indicate all Americans would be vaccinated by the end of  August 2020.

Dr Slaoui says  it’s important that folks get their first shot of the vaccines from drug makers Pfizer and Moderna and then come back a few weeks later to get their second dose.

Operation Warp Speed General Gustave Perna said they’re planning to be ready when an emergency use authorization is approved.

Right now, the FDA has not approved any vaccine for Covid-19, but the U-K has approved the Pfizer vaccine, for use in the United Kingdom…immediately.

In drug trials, some people who received the first shot of the vaccine, report having bad flu-like symptoms.

The first dose of the vaccine won’t be very effective unless you get the second dose also.

There’s no word yet on whether you will get the vaccine through your health-care provider or if the government will provide it, or what the cost or co-pay might be.

The Centers for Disease Control is still setting up a priority list as to who will get the vaccine first, starting with health care workers in hospitals and nursing homes, followed by elderly sick people, then elderly people, then first responders.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)