Coronavirus US: Surgeon general insists vaccine rollout is gathering pace
Just 4.2 million jabs have been administered so far says CDC
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The surgeon general has insisted that the rollout of Covid vaccine was increasing as criticism of the delays mounted.
Jerome Adams pushed back against criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the vaccination effort and pointed to improvements in the number of jabs being administered.
The speed of the vaccination programme has been blasted by the likes of Senator Mitt Romney, who called the rate of distribution “inexcusable.”
“I’m telling you that things are changing. 1.5 million doses in the last 72 hours. That’s meaningful change," Dr Adams told CNN's Jake Tapper.
“There’s what we delivered, and we hoped that would translate into vaccinations, that has not occurred to the way that we would like.”
The White House had claimed that 20 million people would receive the vaccine before the end of 2020.
But the Centres for Disease Control said that as of Saturday just 4.2 million injections had been carried out.
An estimated 20.5 million Americans have so far tested positive for coronavirus and more than 350,000 have died from it during the pandemic.
Dr Adams also refused to defend Donald Trump’s claims on Sunday that the Covid death figures have been “far exaggerated.”
“From a health perspective, I have no reason to doubt those numbers,” added Dr Adams.
“I don't speak for the president.
“I speak for the office of the Surgeon General and the Public Health Service, and I'm focused on making sure people get the information they need and wash your hands and stay your distance and get the vaccine when it's available.”
Earlier Dr Anthony Fauci had disagreed strongly with Mr Trump.
“There’s no running away from the numbers,” he said on ABC’s This Week.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments