Former HHS Assistant Secretary Adm. Brett Giroir on Monday shared his excitement for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
After touting the effectiveness of the latest vaccine approved for use, Giroir told Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” he thinks there is a “real possibility” the United States is near the end of the coronavirus vaccine by May.
“I’m excited about the J&J vaccine,” Giroir stated. “As your report said, it is 100% effective in clinical trials in keeping you out of the hospital and preventing deaths. In the clinical trials, 48 people in the placebo group in the hospital, zero in the J&J vaccine — seven deaths, zero in the J&J. So, this is a highly effective vaccine, and it’s one and done. One and done is going to be so important, particularly in scenarios like the mass vaccination sites where it’s going to be hard logistically to get the people — 10,000 a day — back to the same spot in 21 days.”
Co-host Bill Hemmer asked Giroir if the country will be done with COVID by the end of April or May, as many have suggested.
“I think that’s a possibility,” he replied. “I think it is a little aspirational, but I think it’s a real possibility. This decrease started the first week in January. It is a result of good practices, but no doubt the fact that so many people have had COVID, plus we have now had 75 million injections given to Americans, our herd immunity is building up very quickly. And I do believe by the late spring, early summer, we’re going to be in a far different place. Are we going to be completely back to, quote, normal? Probably not. But again, schools should be open. Businesses should be open. We should be able to travel much more freely. So, I think this country is going to look pretty good by the summer as a result of all the efforts that we have done in the Trump administration and now handed the baton to the Biden administration.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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