Former FDA chief: U.S. has to continue to "chip away" at new vaccinations
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Screenshot: Axios
The U.S. will have to find new ways to get unvaccinated Americans inoculated against the coronavirus to curb the pandemic, former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said during an Axios virtual event on Friday.
Why it matters: President Biden announced several efforts to boost new vaccinations, including requiring more than 80 million Americans working in the private sector to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or produce a negative test result at least once a week.
What they're saying: "I think that continue to chip away at it," Gottlieb said. "I think that it's going to take more bespoke efforts to try to get the people who haven't been vaccinated at this point vaccinated."
- "We have to go into the community, offer vaccine and sites, and at times that is easier for people to access," he added.
- "And I think trying to get the vaccine into the hands of providers and others who can counsel individuals more effectively about the risk benefit of getting vaccinated can help some people have skepticism around the vaccines."
- "And I just think getting better information into the hands of individuals and pushing back on some of the misinformation in the marketplace is going to be important, but it's not going to be easy."
The big picture: Roughly 64% of the U.S. population 18 years or older has been fully vaccinated against the virus, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Go deeper: GOP governors, RNC threaten legal action over Biden's vaccine mandate
