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Added on the 07/10/2020 17:19:24 - Copyright : Wochit
The vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus COVID-19 is rolling along--but very, very slowly. While the FDA has approved two vaccines for distribution, experts say it will be many months before all Americans who want a vaccine can receive one. An NBC News analysis says that at the current pace, it'll take nearly a decade to vaccinate enough Americans to bring the pandemic under control. And according to Business Insider, Brown University's Dr. Ashish K. Jha knows why. He says it's because the Trump administration has bucked the responsibility of vaccine distribution to already overwhelmed state health departments.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that in November Pfizer offered the Trump Administration more COVID-19 vaccines. Gottlieb says the Trump administration rejected the offer. The NY Times reports that Pres. Trump rejected 100 million doses of Pfizer's recently approved COVID-19 vaccine over the summer. According to Business Insider the COVID-19 vaccine deployment campaign started Monday, December 14th.
The White House is desperate to announce the authorization of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. Mark Meadows has reportedly pressured FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn to announce the emergency authorization by the end of the day on Friday. Citing a report in the Washington Post, Business Insider reports that Meadows gave Hahn an ultimatum. Hahn either moves up the announcement or submit his resignation. This comes after President Donald Trump went after the agency on Twitter earlier in the morning, calling it "a big, old, slow turtle." Hahn denied the Post's report shortly after it was published, calling it "untrue." The White House declined to comment.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration was aiming to deliver aid more efficiently. Business Insider reports that Mnuchin's plan is one-time stimulus checks instead of weekly federal unemployment benefits. "We view this as a more effective way to get the money out quickly." Economists say that replacing a weekly federal benefit with a one-time $600 payment would be a less efficient way to help jobless Americans.
The Defense Business Board is a Pentagon advisory group that has recently undergone a purge at the hands of the Trump administration. Now, one of the survivors of that purge has resigned in protest. Business Insider reports Steve Blank wrote in his resignation letter that President Donald Trump's administration has endangered the nation. My service to the Department of Defense was a service to the country not to a party. I hereby tender my resignation. Steve Blank Former Member, US Defense Business Board Business Insider reports the purge of the Defense Business Board last week followed the removal of most of the Defense Policy Board late last month. The Trump administration has also purged much of the Pentagon's civilian leadership, clearing the way for loyalists to fill top posts. All the vacancies created by the purge are to be filled by Trump loyalists.
U.S. President Barack Obama attends an outdoor arrival ceremony in heavy rain, as the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
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