A new, possibly "more transmissible" variant of COVID-19 that is specific to the United States, believed to be behind half of the country's coronavirus cases, has been reported by Illinois researchers.
In a study currently awaiting peer review, a team led by Southern Illinois University Carbondale researcher Keith Gagnon reported a new variant "specific to and dominant in the United States," which would mark the latest mutation discovery following those reported in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The discovery was submitted Monday to BioRxiv, a preprint server aimed at disseminating research while it undergoes peer review.
“It’s here. We found it,” Gagnon said in a statement. “It’s definitely home-grown and widespread, and we’re the first to characterize it.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic."
SIU researchers say their reported variant, called 20C-US, which has not yet been listed as an emerging variant by the CDC, has been traced as far back as May in Texas. Since then, it has mutated at least twice and is now most prevalent in the Upper Midwest.
They said they made their discovery "while looking at their own SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing data from Illinois," according to a release.
“We predict that 20C-US may already be the most dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the U.S.,” the article states.
Researchers wrote that the variant's emergence coincides with spikes in the country, which could mean it spreads more easily.
“There are hundreds of variants floating around, so for this one to rise to prominence suggests it might be more transmissible,” Gagnon said.
Similar to other variants of the virus, researchers believe the current coronavirus vaccines being administered in the U.S. could still be effective.
“Based on the mutations so far, I don’t think it will significantly impact the vaccine’s effectiveness," Gagnon said. "The catch is that the virus continues to evolve, and since May, it has acquired three mutations, and two of them are in the spike protein, one of which might affect antibody binding. There are a lot of unknowns.”

California will begin offering the coronavirus vaccine to residents who are 65 years and older, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday. 
The state's announcement comes one day after members of Operation Warp Speed recommended expanding access to the vaccine for anyone in this age group.
"There is no higher priority than efficiently and equitable distributing these vaccines as quickly as possible to those who face the gravest consequences," he said. "To those not yet eligible to start receiving vaccines, your turn is coming."
California has been particularly hard hit by a monthslong surge that had brought the state's coronavirus tally to more than 2.7 million cases and 31,000 deaths as of Wednesday.

For the second straight year, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to be canceled.
NAIAS organizers announced on Monday that the show, which was to be in the summer for the first in 2020 before being canceled, will also be canceled in 2021 as well.
The auto show, regularly a winter event for decades, was announced to be held in the summer in downtown Detroit around the TCF Center. In March of 2020, the summer event was canceled entirely because of the coronavirus with plans to return in September of 2021.
However, the NAIAS announced that it would not have a show this year either, citing multiple concerns related to the virus and organizing an event where thousands of people would converge on Detroit.
Organizers, however, said they plan to host an auto-centric event called Motor Bella in Pontiac between Sept. 21 to Sept. 26, the same NAIAS was to hold the event.
"The pandemic has caused changes in our society and world in ways not previously imagined, and we all should be looking for new and highly creative ways of doing business," said Executive Director Rod Alberts. "This new event captures that creative spirit. It will provide new mobility experiences and increasingly innovative approaches to tapping into the industry and its products."
Alberts said attendees can expect a multi-sensory experience at the new event. "This all-outdoor venue, with adrenaline-pumping track activities and a full complement of OEM and technology exhibits, is going to offer the sights, sounds and even the smell of all that the new world of mobility has to offer."
The NAIAS cancelation was announced the same day that the North American Car and Truck of the Year were announced.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has said it would collaborate with the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 and the Federal Ministry of Health to map out strategic guidelines on COVID-19 preventive measures to safeguard Nigerian pilgrims during the 2021 hajj operation.
Public Affairs of NAHCON, Mrs Fatima Usara, in a statement enjoined all intending pilgrims and officials of State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards to continue to observe COVID-19 protocols in order to curtail the spread of the deadly pandemic. She assured Nigerian Muslims that as soon as the Saudi Arabian authority communicated new guidelines on the 2021 hajj and umrah exercise, NAHCON would take appropriate actions in the interest of intending pilgrims.
The commission urged intending pilgrims, states and other hajj and umrah licensed operators to continue with normal preparations and registration for 2021 hajj, while exercising patience until clear directives come from the Saudi Arabian authority.
According to Usara; “Even as we look forward with high hopes on the possibility of the larger Muslim community performing hajj and umrah in 2021, NAHCON will continue to await further directives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in reverence to the kingdom’s divinely bestowed role as the custodians of the two holy mosques and its domain.
“The commission continues to commend and trust the kingdom for its courage in taking difficult decisions in the interest of world Muslims even where the unfavourable effect of such decisions is borne by the kingdom itself. NAHCON assures Nigerian Muslims that as soon as the Saudi Arabian authority communicates new guidelines on hajj and umrah, the Commission will not hesitate in taking appropriate actions in the interest of Nigerian intending pilgrims.
“NAHCON also wishes to remind all intending pilgrims for hajj that registration for the 2021 hajj will continue on the normal platform on e-hajj portals under state pilgrims’ boards/agencies/commissions, while those wishing to pay for 2022 and beyond are advised to utilize the Hajj Savings Scheme platform.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Muhammad Saleh Benten, said it was advisable for those who wish to perform umrah to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
He said all the precautionary measures and preventive protocols were being taken to stem the spread of coronavirus in coordination with the Ministry of Health, emphasising that the umrah pilgrimage is “safe”.

NEW YORK: As millions of people await their turn to get a Covid-19 vaccine that could be months away, scammers online, in emails and on messaging apps are luring victims with claims they can deliver shots within days for as little as US$150 (RM601).
Covid-19 vaccine scams are on the rise, according to European and US government officials who are warning the public of fraudsters out for money and personal data.
A Reuters search online, in dark web forums and on messaging app Telegram found seven different offers for alleged Covid-19 vaccines.
Scams include emails promising entry to supposedly secret lists for early vaccine access and robocallers impersonating government agencies. Message boards on the so-called dark web have added Covid-19 vaccines to more traditional illicit goods for sale.
The US FBI and Interpol, among others, have warned of emerging pandemic-related fraud schemes, saying false cures and vaccines advertised on fake websites could pose cyber threats and a significant risk to peoples’ health, or even lives.
Website domains containing the word vaccine in combination with Covid-19 or coronavirus more than doubled since October to roughly 2,500 in November, when the first legitimate vaccines were nearing regulatory approval, according to cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, which is tracking Covid-19 fraud online.
“So far a lot of these domains just appear to be opportunistic registrations, but some are going to be used for phishing attempts to have people click on (malicious) links,” said Lindsay Kaye, director of operational outcomes at Recorded Future.
Kaye said her team, which also scours the dark web, so far has not come across any legitimate vaccine diverted from healthcare facilities or national stockpiles.
The scams are preying on concerns about the far slower-than-promised rollout of vaccines to protect against the virus that has claimed more than 1.8 million lives worldwide so far. Most people will likely have to wait well into the spring, or even summer, to get their shot.
In the United States, only about 4.5 million people had received their first shot as of Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. That is a fraction of the 20 million who were supposed to have been vaccinated by the end of 2020, according to earlier government forecasts.
Vaccines, guns and money
On dark web forum Agartha, fake Covid-19 vaccines were offered next to cocaine, opioid medication, “super high quality fake money”, hand guns and gift cards. Posts showed stock photos of vaccines and offered vials for US$500 (RM2,005) and US$1,000 (RM4,010), or the equivalent in Bitcoin.
On another dark web site, a seller claiming to be from the “Wuhan Institute of Science” offered Covid-19 vaccines in exchange for a donation, and asked buyers to provide their medical history.
On Telegram, several channels claimed to offer Covid-19 vaccines, accompanied by stock images. One user offered supposed Moderna Inc vaccines for US$180 (RM721), and claimed the vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE could be had for US$150 (RM601) and AstraZeneca’s for US$110 (RM441) per vial.
Asked how the vaccines would be shipped, the account creator said they were transported in “regulated temperature packs” and ice packs within a few days, or overnight for an additional charge.
Actual Covid-19 vaccines, particularly the Pfizer/BioNTech offering, must be temperature controlled to remain effective, with drugmakers equipping shipments with temperature trackers to ensure the cold chain. Vaccine shipments and distribution are also tightly controlled by officials and will be administered at no cost.
The United States has so far authorized two Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use – the ones from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The European Union to date has authorised the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and is expected to clear the Moderna vaccine this week.
The UK has already authorised those two and just added the vaccine developed by Oxford University with AstraZeneca.
Asked about vaccine scams, Pfizer said it had taken meticulous steps to reduce the risk of counterfeiting and tracked trends very carefully.
“Patients should never try to secure a vaccine online – no legitimate vaccine is sold online – and only get vaccinated at certified vaccination centers or by certified healthcare providers,” a Pfizer spokesman said in a statement.
Moderna referred a request for comment to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which did not respond. AstraZeneca did not respond to a request for comment.
The HHS, FBI and US Department of Justice have urged the public to report any Covid-19 vaccine scams, including people asking for out-of-pocket payments for the vaccine and online vaccine advertisements. – Reuters

The introduction of the vaccine has given hope to many desperate people. These people who use vaccines to deceive are really hateful! This is also a problem caused by the slow implementation of vaccines.

A hospital in California is facing a coronavirus outbreak among its staff that might be tied to an inflatable costume worn on Christmas to cheer up patients.
At least 43 staff members tested positive for the virus between Dec. 27 and New Year’s Day, according to a statement from Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center on Saturday. The hospital’s emergency department has been deep-cleaned, and all infected staff members are isolating.
The hospital is looking into whether the fan on an "air-powered costume" could have spread droplets after a staff member briefly wore it in the emergency department on Christmas Day.
“Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent, and quite accidental, as the individual had no COVID symptoms and only sought to lift the spirits of those around them during what is a very stressful time,” the hospital said.
Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center will no longer allow such costumes in its facility, the statement said.
Emergency department employees at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center who were able to get a Covid-19 vaccine were only given their first inoculation days prior to Christmas Day and would not have reached immunity by the time of the incident.
None would have had their second booster shot by Christmas Day.
“During this period, even as vaccine is beginning to be provided in our communities, it is crucial that everyone continue to protect themselves and each other by continuing to use masks, hand washing, avoid gatherings, and practice social distancing,” the hospital said.
None of the staff members who tested positive will return to work, though the hospital said it has been engaging additional staff as part of its preparations.
California hospitals have been overwhelmed with casesin recent weeks amid a new surge of the virus, which brought record numbers of daily deaths and hospitalizations.
The state’s Bay Area has only 5.1 percent availability in its intensive care units. Southern California is beset with hospitalizations, with no available beds in many of its hospitals as staff create makeshift units in gift shops or pediatric wards.
California has recorded 2,345,909 confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 26,000 deaths, according to numbers the state’s public health department released Saturday.

The FG says the Nigerian Tourism and Culture industry needs protection to get hold of a strategic survival plan through the implementation of faster COVID-19 testing response and certification.
This was disclosed by Segun Runsewe, the Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.
Mr. Runsewe said that the rebound of Covid-19 in Nigeria has additional challenges for Nigeria’s tourism sector and extra measures in testing certification must be provided to support the sector in 2021.
He added that the new Covid-19 restrictions have heavily impacted the recreational and hospitality businesses, which would be devastating for the economy through job losses.
We certainly welcome the news of vaccination to help curb the spread of the pandemic.
”We must give the Nigerian tourism and culture sector some form of protection and confidence to get hold of a strategic survival plan through faster COVID-19 testing response and certification.
The industry must hold its breath in 2021 and show grit,” he said.
He added that the FG needs to build capacity through engagement with the sector and also provide services through testing and certification to enable growth in the sector.
The fear of another strain of the pandemic is very alarming, but we must respond with a chain of confidence-building processes, carefully driven through one on one engagement with cultural tourism practitioners on creating additional domestic travels,” he said.
It is important to empower the hospitality and creative sector to sustain jobs, provide services and with protocols of COVID-19 testing and certification process, to generate double-digit growth for the industry in 2021. 
“We need to promote industry leadership in order to power the sector to growth, instead of doom in 2021,” he added.

The failure by Nigerians to comply with COVID-19 protocols during the festive period could lead to an increase in new infections across the country, the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) said on Tuesday.
The Director-General of the centre, Chikwe Ihekweazu, at a Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing, said the consequences of violating the rules will appear by January 2021.
Mr Ihekweazu said appeals made to the public to adhere to all non-pharmaceutical measures put in place to limit spread of the virus have been ignored.
He noted that the country had more cases last week than any other week since the onset of the pandemic.
“Our appeals to Nigerians over the last few months have not been heeded and we have gone ahead with business as usual. Events centres are full, social activities are full and so it is no surprise that cases are rising,” Iheakwazu said.
“January will be a tough month, we have to brace ourselves for the consequences of the activities that we decided to carry out in December.”
Since early December, there has been a spike in coronavirus cases across Africa’s most populous country.
Health experts believe the lowering of guard on safety and the weak enforcement of protocols especially in the country’s major airports in Abuja and Lagos could be responsible for the development, warning that the situation could get worse if citizens keep violating safety protocols.
With the country into the second wave of the pandemic, federal authorities have ordered the reopening of all isolation and treatment centres.

Sungai Buloh Hospital, the main treatment centre for Covid-19 cases, is 81% full and two centres for low-risk patients are 71% and 84% full respectively, the health ministry reported today, as infections continue to top the 1,000-case mark every day.
However, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there were enough beds to cope with the current number of cases.
Of a total of 11,493 beds allocated in six hospitals and treatment centres, 58% or 6,646 beds are currently in use.
Bed capacity numbers were revealed by the Covid-19 central region command centre in a tweet today. It said overall bed use was at 58% in the central region, encompassing Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Bed use at the National Leprosy Control Centre had reached 84%, while the health ministry’s training institute in Sungai Buloh was at 71%. Both centres are used for low-risk patients.
The Malaysian Agro Exposition Park at Serdang, which has been used for treatment of foreign workers, was at 50% capacity, the command centre reported.
Following the surge in active cases, the ministry might temporarily convert Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital to treat Covid-19 patients “only for citizen patients”.
Earlier today, Noor Hisham had said the large number of cases in the Klang Valley had caused logistics issues and delays in transporting patients to hospitals.
In recent days, many patients have complained of long waits for ambulances to pick them up after they had been tested positive. A netizens’ group has, in fact, started a drive to collect names of those who were still waiting for the call from the hospital.
Noor Hisham has urged those who test positive for Covid-19 but are asymptomatic to self-isolate while waiting for officials to contact them.
He also advised those self-isolating to keep in touch with their district health offices while waiting to be brought to the hospital.
Malaysia has been recording over 1,000 Covid-19 cases daily, with 1,196 infections and one death yesterday. The total number of cases in the country now stands at 105,096, with 20,233 active cases currently.

Top leaders and rank-and-file members of Congress are taking part in the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations, a move that could accelerate plans for Congress to return to business as usual. But not all lawmakers agree on who should get priority as millions of Americans in high-risk groups still await their turn.
The Capitol's attending physician, Brian Monahan, alerted its more than 500 lawmakers this month that they're now eligible to get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine under continuity-of-government requirements.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy were among those with first dibs. Other members soon followed suit, saying it could inspire public confidence in the vaccine.
"Our job is to make sure the vaccine isn't politicized the way masks were politicized," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said in a Twitter exchange after getting her vaccine.
McConnell, who was treated for polio as a child, repeatedly cites public opinion polls showing reticence among the public about the vaccine, and he emphasizes the importance of getting inoculated.
"It took decades to develop the polio vaccine. This vaccine was developed in under a year, a modern medical miracle, and we need to take the vaccine," McConnell said in an interview on Fox News.
The efforts could also stem the flow of coronavirus cases linked to Congress, where more than 270 individuals — including 50 lawmakers — have become infected during the pandemic.
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx and California Democratic Rep. Karen Bass were among the first wave of members to get the vaccine.
"When public health officials say it's your turn to get a vaccine, roll up your sleeves — I'll be doing the same when my turn arrives," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who was infected with the coronavirus this year, said on the Senate floor on Monday. "Getting immunized is the only way we'll beat the virus and get back to the normal way of American life."
The pandemic has also disrupted the work of Congress, from floor activity to committee hearings.
Lawmakers "will be provided with a specific number of COVID19 vaccine doses to meet long-standing requirements for continuity of government operations," Monahan, the Capitol's attending physician, wrote in a Dec. 17 note to members.

The Vatican says that it's "morally acceptable" to receive a vaccination for COVID-19, even if the vaccine's research or production involved using cell lines derived from aborted fetuses, given the "grave danger" of the pandemic.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office charged with promoting and defending church morals and traditions, said in a document released Monday that "when ethically irreproachable Covid-19 vaccines are not available ... it is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process."
Pope Francis approved the text on Thursday, Vatican News reported.
The statement said that "all vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive. It should be emphasized, however, that the morally licit use of these types of vaccines, in the particular conditions that make it so, does not in itself constitute a legitimation, even indirect, of the practice of abortion, and necessarily assumes the opposition to this practice by those who make use of these vaccines."
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released its own statement last week, which said: "In view of the gravity of the current pandemic and the lack of availability of alternative vaccines, the reasons to accept the new COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are sufficiently serious to justify their use," as it deemed these vaccines' connection to abortion "very remote."
The U.S. conference said that receiving one of the vaccines "ought to be understood as an act of charity toward the other members of our community" and "considered an act of love of our neighbor and part of our moral responsibility for the common good."
NPR reached out to Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca for comment but did not receive a reply by time of publication. The Vatican statement did not cite by name any COVID-19 vaccines now in use or development.
Cells derived from elective abortions have been used in the manufacture of vaccines since the 1960s, Science magazine reported, "including current vaccines against rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis A, and shingles. They have also been used to make approved drugs against diseases including hemophilia, rheumatoid arthritis, and cystic fibrosis."

Congressional leaders returned to familiar ground Saturday, digging in on opposite sides of a stalemate over a coronavirus relief package they all say is badly needed to help millions of Americans struggling this holiday season.
This time, they're fighting over a GOP-backed provision that would require the Federal Reserve to seek congressional approval for certain lending authorities. Leaders say they have resolved nearly every other issue, from ironing out issues with food stamps and disaster funds to dropping months-long fights over state and local funding and liability reform.
And nobody in the Capitol seems happy to be spending the weekend this way.
"I don't think this is going to be resolved anytime soon," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters. "Oh I could see us here until New Year's, or Christmas Eve, maybe New Year's Eve."
The fight over the Federal Reserve started as a demand from Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, one of the most vocal fiscal hawks in Congress. He is pushing for three pandemic-related programs, a corporate bond credit facility, a main street lending program and a municipal lending program, to end.
"They don't need to continue," Toomey said on the Senate floor. "They were funded by the CARES Act, they were set up at the time of the CARES Act for this narrow, specific purpose and now they've achieved their purpose."
Democrats argue the provision would also prevent future Treasury secretaries from restarting the programs. They accuse Republicans of holding up roughly $900 billion in funds and programs over one proposal that they say cropped up in the final hours of the talks.
Republicans adopted Toomey's fight but Majority Leader McConnell did not respond to questions Saturday about whether the issue is a red line in the negotiations. Toomey told reporters that he thinks it is possible to get a deal done.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters that the argument over Toomey's request is the big remaining issue preventing a final deal.
"That has to be resolved and then everything will fall into place," Pelosi told reporters. "It's not a detail, it's a very significant difference."
The two-day stop-gap spending bill Congress approved Friday to allow them time to finish their talks is set to expire at the end of the day on Sunday.

Dr. Anthony Fauci would recommend that both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence receive the Covid-19 vaccine, which has been approved for emergency use authorization and is being rolled out nationwide.
"You still want to protect people who are, you know, very important to our country right now," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America." "Even though the President himself was infected and he has likely antibodies that likely would be protective, we're not sure how long that protection lasts."
"I would recommend that he get vaccinated, as well as the vice president," Fauci added.
Fauci also said that he really feels strongly that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris should be vaccinated "as soon as we possibly can."
"You want him fully protected as he enters into the presidency in January," Fauci said of Biden. "So that would be my strong recommendation."
The Biden transition team expects to make an announcement "soon" on when Biden and Harris will receive Covid-19 vaccines, a transition official said.
Since the start of the pandemic, the White House has dealt with an in-house outbreak of coronavirus several times. Despite that, White House staff have regularly flouted the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations such as the wearing of face masks and social distancing.
Discussions around which government officials will get the vaccine first have centered around Trump and Biden getting vaccinated by the end of the year, according to one person involved in the talks.

As leaders, both trump and Biden should set an example by inoculating covid-19 vaccine. Covid-19 has caused 300000 deaths. White House officials have not paid attention to it, or even ignored the suggestions of the Centers for Disease Control and prevention. This has also had a bad impact on the masses. In their eyes, what is the most important?

Super-cooled shipments of a newly approved coronavirus vaccine rolled out of a Pfizer manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan Sunday for rapid air freight distribution to regional hubs across the United States.
Inoculations against the deadly COVID-19 disease caused by the virus will begin “very expeditiously, hopefully Monday,” Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told CNN. More than 184,000 vials were on the first trucks leaving the Pfizer vaccine production facility.
Health care workers and elderly people in long-term care facilities will be first in line to receive the first round of 2.9 million doses at a time when cases are surging in the United States. The U.S. has recorded more cases than any other country, with nearly 300,000 deaths from the virus and more than 16 million infections, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
Hahn said it is possible that 20 million Americans will be able to get vaccinated with the first of two required doses by the end of December. Moncef Slaoui, the chief adviser to the government’s vaccine development, told the “Fox News Sunday” show that 100 million Americans might be vaccinated by the end of March.
But on the ABC News show “This Week,” Hahn said it was a “significant problem” that a quarter to half of Americans, according to polls, are wary of the vaccine produced by the American-German corporate tandem of Pfizer and BioNTech, despite being approved by U.S. health regulators, or have vowed to not get inoculated.
Hahn said the government has “to be transparent on the safety” of the Pfizer vaccine, as well as on a vaccine produced by biotechnology company Moderna that is being reviewed by regulators this week. Clinical tests showed both were 95% effective.
Slaoui said that for the U.S. to acquire "herd immunity," which would halt transmission of the deadly virus, the country needs about 75% or 80% of the population immunized. He said he hopes that point could be reached between May and June.
"It is, however, critical that most of the American people decide and accept to take the vaccine," Slaoui said. "We are very concerned by the hesitancy that we see."
Governor Phil Murphy of the eastern state of New Jersey told ABC, “We’ve got to deal with a skeptical anti-vaccination bloc” of people.
But he added, “We believe in these vaccines. They’re safe.”

The United States has reached an extraordinary new COVID-19 milestone, recording more than one million new cases in just five days.
Doctors have described the dramatic surge in infections as the “breaking point” as intensive care units in hospitals across the country hit capacity.
The surge has forced parts of the US back into lockdown, with California the latest state to enforce a tough new three-week ‘stay at home’ order.
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Dr William Checkley joined Sam Armytage to discuss the alarming upward trend.

Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola has linked the hardship being faced by many Nigerians to COVID-19 pandemic and EndSARS protests that erupted in many states of the federation.
The minister who made this known at the commissioning of a central mosque built by Ta’Awunu Islamic group in Iwo, Osun State, on Saturday, however, assured that the hardship would soon be over as president Muhammadu Buhari is on top of the situation.
Aregbesola affirmed: “The President is aware of the hardship facing the citizens of the country. This was caused by the pandemic and the EndSARS protest which erupted in many states of the federation. The president is doing all his best and I can assure you that very soon, all will be well and we will be happy again.”
He, however, warned that “during this festive period, we must be cautious. We should obey the holy prophet’s teachings that say, ‘when there is an outbreak of epidemic somewhere, we should not leave there and; those outside should not join until the epidemic is over. We must take responsibilities for our lives.”
Aregbesola, therefore, charged Nigerians to go about their festive period with caution saying, that coronavirus pandemic is still very much on.
“The country can’t afford to return to when the dreaded virus was at its peak in the country and Nigerians should not lower their guards at this point that cases are being recorded on a daily basis.”
“Coronavirus is still very much with us. We can’t afford to return to when the virus was at its peak in the country. That is why we must observe social distance and we use our face masks always. Cases are still being recorded every day,” he warned.