Is it possible for the United States to reach a 70-percent rate for all adults in the U.S. to have at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine by the beginning of July?
President and CEO of the Medical College of Wisconsin Dr. John Raymond tells Wisconsin’s Afternoon News it is possible, but more needs to be done to get people interested and committed to getting a dose.
“I think we probably do need to re-double our efforts,” says Dr. Raymond. “We are roughly on track to get 70-percent of adults with at least one shot by July 4th, but that really requires the current vaccination pace to hold.”
Currently in Wisconsin, the Department of Health Services says 48.6-percent of all people eligible for the vaccine has received at least one dose. Those fully vaccinated is 43.2-percent.
The three current vaccines approved for use in the U.S. has shown to protect people very well from the different variants of COVID-19 that have been found across the globe. Dr. Raymond says this is important for one particular variant, known as Delta, which was first found in India.
“I do think that the variant is one that we need to watch very carefully,” says Dr. Raymond. “That is 40 to 100-percent more contagious than many of the other variants, and is thought to be more contagious, and potentially more lethal, than the U-K variant. We really need to continue to get people vaccinated.”
Listen to Dr. Raymond’s full comments and those of Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Tim Sheehy during the most recent MKE Health and Economy Briefing.