Vaccinations Kick into 2nd Gear at 2 Million a Day; Biden Gets 70% Approval for Covid Response
Vaccinations for Covid-19 have levelled up to more than 2 million a day likely helped by shipments of the newly approved Johnson and Johnson vaccine this week. Altogether, 55.5 million Americans have received at least one dose, 16.7% of the total population and 21.7% of those old enough to be eligible.
The public seems to have taken some notice as a poll by AP-NORC shows the President with 70% approval for his pandemic efforts. Even 44% of Republicans approve of the Covid Response, according to the poll.
70% approve of Biden on COVID-19, fewer on economy
A new AP-NORC poll finds that 6 in 10 Americans approve of President Joe Biden, bolstered by high ratings on COVID-19, including among many Republicans. Slightly fewer approve of Biden’s handling of the economy.
Some of them may have heard that the Biden administration pushed huge drug maker Merck into helping its rival J&J produce its Covid vaccine after Merck’s efforts failed to produce a useful vaccine.
That changed when Jeff Zients, the White House’s coronavirus czar, called Johnson & Johnson’s CEO Alex Gorsky on a Sunday in early February and urged the company to meet the moment, stressing that the US is in a “national emergency” and that it was time to go “big and bold.”
“You can’t be incremental and small in your thinking. We have to overwhelm this problem,” one senior administration official said, recounting the conversation, which lasted an hour more than the scheduled 15 minutes.
Also a fourth major drug maker, AstraZeneca, is looking to add the to the list of countries where it is supplying Covid vaccine. It’s being used in Canada, Europe and about 38 other countries but has not applied for emergency use in the US.
AstraZeneca Readies US Vaccine Production
www.msn.com/…Ruud Dobber, executive vice president at AstraZeneca, told CBSN anchor Tanya Rivero on Friday that the drugmaker hopes to receive the results of its clinical trial “in the next few weeks.” It then plans on immediately seeking emergency use authorization for its two-dose vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration, he said. If authorized, he said AstraZeneca is prepared to deliver tens of millions of doses to the U.S.
www.msn.com/…A company executive said this week it has begun production and expects to have 30 million doses ready for U.S. distribution, once it’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. AstraZeneca hasn’t yet applied to the FDA and hasn’t said when it will, but the U.K.-based company expects to produce 15 to 25 million doses per month for the U.S.
If the FDA gives the green light, “we are expecting to start with 30 million,” Ruud Dobber, AstraZeneca’s executive vice president and president of its biopharmaceuticals unit, told CNBC this week. “We’re already producing at high speed as we speak, so we feel comfortable.”
Another bit of information.
Published on March 3, 2021 in the scientific journal Blood Advances, the study indicates that the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV2, appears to have a blood type preference. In particular, COVID-19 seems to gravitate towards blood group A in respiratory cells. The same can’t be said for red blood cells in the same group. The study also shows that there’s no preference towards respiratory or red blood cells in type B and O blood groups.
| Day | Delivered | Total Shots | 1st Shot % of Pop | 2nd Shot % of Pop | |
| 3/4 | Thu | 114,133,115 |
85,008,094
+2,435,246 |
55,547,697 16.7%
+1,512,027 |
28,701,201 8.6% |
| 3/3 | Wed | 109,905,530 |
82,572,848
+2,032,374 |
54,035,670 16.3%
+1,180,091 |
27,795,980 8.4% |
| 3/2 | Tue | 107,028,890 |
80,540,474
+1,908,873 |
52,855,579 15.9%
+1,100,132 |
26,957,804 8.1% |
| 3/1 | Mon | 102,353,940 |
78,631,601
+1,731,614 |
51,755,447 15.6%
+1,022,450 |
26,162,122 7.9% |
| 2/28 | Sun | 96,402,490 |
76,899,987
+1,663,984 |
50,732,997 15.3%
+960,817
|
25,466,405 7.7% |
| 2/27 | Sat | 96,402,490 |
75,236,003
+2,429,823 |
49,772,180 15%
+1,336,644
|
24,779,920 7.5%
|
| 2/26 | Fri | 96,402,290 |
72,806,180
+2,352,116 |
48,435,536 14.6%
+1,251,337 |
23,698,627 7.1% |
| 2/25 | 94,300,910 | 70,454,064 | 47,184,199 14.2% | 22,613,359 6.8% | |
| 2/24 | 91,673,010 | 68,274,117 | 46,074,392 13.9% | 21,555,117 6.5% | |
| 2/23 | 88,669,035 | 66,464,947 | 45,237,143 13.6% | 20,607,261 6.2% | |
| 2/22 | 82,114,370 | 65,032,083 | 44,544,969 13.4% |
19,882,544 6%
|
|
| 2/21 | 75,205,940 | 64,177,474 | 44,138,118 | 19,438,495 | |
| 2/20 | 75,204,965 | 63,090,634 | 43,628,092 | 18,865,319 |
