Jeff Zients: We hit a grim milestone on Monday. 500,000 people have died from COVID in the U.S. And everyone’s life has been impacted. You know, too many businesses and schools are no longer open. So this is a national emergency, a war.
Bill Whitaker: President Biden said the other day that the rollout was a mess when you took office. What was the situation you inherited?
Jeff Zients: I wanna start by giving credit where credit is due, which is to the scientists and the researchers and the people who participated in the clinical trials. It enabled us to have two vaccines ready in really a record-period of time and these two vaccines are very effective. So that was the good news. The bad news is there really was no plan to ramp up the supply of those vaccines. So there wasn’t enough vaccine. There were not enough vaccinators, people actually take vaccine and turn it into vaccinations by putting needles into arms. And then third there just were not enough places for people to get vaccinated. There was no comprehensive plan or strategy–
Bill Whitaker: When you came into office.
Jeff Zients: when we came into office.
Bill Whitaker: But once you step into the office, this becomes yours.
Jeff Zients: Right. This is absolutely ours. And President Biden, within the first couple of weeks, secured enough vaccines that by July 31st, there’s enough to vaccinate 300 million Americans.
Bill Whitaker: People are scared. This is life or death for many people. And I think many Americans think that things aren’t moving fast enough.
Jeff Zients: Well I think that’s a fair feeling this is life and death. We need to make sure that every day we’re getting more and more people vaccinated, we’re increasing the supply, we’re increasing the number of vaccinations, we’re increasing the places where people can go. So I understand the frustration. And we’re doing all we can to move as fast as we can.
Jeff Zients fixed the bungled rollout of the Obamacare website in 2013. Now he’s tasked with fixing this vaccine rollout. As part of the plan, the administration has opened seven of 18 mass FEMA vaccination sites, supported more than 400 smaller vaccine centers across the country and has approved distribution of vaccine through pharmacies, targeting under-served communities.
Dr. Travis Gayles: I think from a federal perspective, there has been significant improvements. They actually have a plan now.
Never will convince me that it was a mess when Biden took over, again they are playing the blame game instead of getting done what needs to be accomplished. Bunch of damn whiners.
If so many people have been vaccinated, and so many people have had the COVID and should now be immune, why are there not a lot of people not running around without masks?
in the Bottom , as usual !!!! on Everything , like unemployment & stimulus for it’s people !!!!!
Hear that Hogan you POS
Vote with your feet as i plan too MD is pretty much last in everything except HIGH TAXES..
Typical Rhino/Dumbocrat level of efficiency. Rats AREN’T good at thinking, if they were, traps would be no good. They’re hogs in the Heart…look at Hoggan!!!
Thank Biden for sending OUR vaccine supply to the rest of the world, as he said he would do, & he DID !!!!
Fat assed Hogan the Horrible will find someone else to blame his incompetence on.
Illegals come first , then foreign countries , then Americans !!!!
Maryland ranks among lowest in everything.
MD doesn’t have to dumb down the state for equality. It’s has been that way for years.
No more mention of once said , Maryland was going to Not Tax Retiree’s Pensions ??? WHY (under Rug ?? )