Trump Will Release All Available COVID-19 Vaccines

The change will aim to maximize the number of people receiving the first of their two shots, offering some protection against a pandemic surging at unprecedented levels nationwide.Vaccines will now be recommended for all people over the age of 65 or anyone with a high-risk condition, such as diabetes, heart disease, or obesity, a total population estimated to include roughly 90 million people.The federal government will also start to assist states in setting up mass vaccination sites, Department of Health and Health and Human Services Chief Alex Azar said Tuesday.“We need doses going to where they will be used most quickly,” said Azar. The OWS changes come ahead of a Thursday briefing by President-elect Joe Biden, whose transition team last week announced similar plans to push out all available vaccine doses, part of a campaign pledge to give 100 million shots in the first 100 days of the Biden administration.After initially aiming to have 300 million vaccine doses distributed by January, OWS steadily lowered its projections to 20 million by December, a target it also missed, with under 9 million people having received a first shot as of Monday.The FDA has authorized two vaccines, one made by Pfizer and the other by Moderna, for emergency use.