Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) says there is “light at the end of the tunnel” amid the coronavirus pandemic but “we’ve still got some pain to go through before we get this under control.”
As the U.S. continues to combat the pandemic, states are waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine distribution. The state of Maryland will be allocated roughly 155,00 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, as ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos pointed out.
Pfizer, which is working with BioNTech, submitted for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization on Friday. Moderna is expected to apply for its authorization soon.
Hogan told Stephanopoulos during Thursday morning’s interview that the 155,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses are not enough to cover the state’s frontline health care workers at first. He then noted that the frontline health care workers will be first in the pyramid to receive the vaccine, as well as nursing homes, then first responders.
Asked if the vaccines are being distributed to states in a “fair way,” Hogan said, “I think they are,” adding that Operation Warp Speed is a “tremendous success.”
Watch Hogan’s interview below:
“There is a light at the end of the tunnel but we’ve still got some pain to go through before we get this under control.”
— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 3, 2020
Maryland @GovLarryHogan talks about his state’s vaccine distribution plan and difficult months ahead. https://t.co/JYh6bL0z7f pic.twitter.com/ow9frV5qSW
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said during a press briefing this week, “It’s time to hunker down. It’s time to cancel everything. And if it isn’t essential, don’t do it.”
After Stephanopoulos mentioned Garcetti’s remarks and asked the Maryland governor what his message is to his state, Hogan said, “Sadly, the darkest days are yet ahead. And hearing the statistics you were just talking about earlier, the worst part of this virus is still coming in the weeks and the month or two to come.”
The Maryland governor urged Americans to be patient, and declared, “The good news is, the calvary is on the way. There is a light at the end of the tunnel but we’ve still got some pain to go through before we get this under control.”
During Tuesday’s press briefing, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters, “If all goes well, we could be distributing vaccine soon after Dec. 10.”
He added, “We believe we can distribute vaccine to all 64 jurisdictions within 24 hours of FDA authorization. Then we hope administration can begin as soon as the product arrives.”
There have been 164,024 positive COVID-19 cases per day on average over the past week in the U.S. — a similar average from the two weeks prior, according to The New York Times.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said this week that if the “overwhelming majority” of Americans get the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the second quarter then the U.S. could have herd immunity by the end of the summer in 2021.
Additionally, chief scientific adviser for Operation Warp Speed Dr. Moncef Slaoui told CNN that he believes the U.S. could reach herd immunity by May of 2021.
Fauci also said that he believes the “general population” could receive the coronavirus vaccine by April of 2021.
