1. This may be a thread. https://twitter.com/HelenBranswell/status/1349040350401331201

2. Interesting to hear HHS secretary Alex Azar blame the states for being too slow in the rollout of vaccine when states are still waiting for money to do the work. "States have ample funding," he said... including $3B that's still coming.

3. Azar says 2 weeks from now — when he won't be HHS secretary — states that are using vaccine most quickly will get more vaccine. Incentive system. You want more vaccine? Get it into arms quickly.
But he won't be HHS secretary in 2 weeks.

4. CDC Director Robert Redfield — who won't be CDC director in 2 weeks, when this new incentive program goes into effect — is asking governors to expand vaccine to all individuals 65 & older & people with a comorbidity who have medical documentation.
That's a lot of people.

5. CDC director Redfield, who signed off on the CDC prioritization recommendations that he & Azar are now asking states not to follow, warns it's going to be a rough January, but there's light at the end of the tunnel.

6. General Perna really likes the word cadence.

7. General Perna, OWS head, says 70,000 nursing homes are enrolled in the CVS-Walgreen program. 11,000 have received first doses.

8. General Perna says he feels confident that the flow of #Covid19 vaccine from the manufacturers is such now that "we can open up the aperture."
Pharmacies seem to be a big part of this increase.

9. Azar says the CDC's priority recommendations for who to vaccinate in what order "aren't meant to be prescriptive."

10. CDC Director Robert Redfield says CDC is doing a "deep dive" to look at how states are doing distributing #Covid19 vaccine.

11. Secretary Azar says the freeing up of 2nd doses that are being held back should not lead to a need to stretch out the intervals between vaccine doses — 21 days for the Pfizer vax, 28 days for the Moderna.

12. Azar says if, God forbid, there are problems with the flow of vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna, new doses will be prioritized to people needing 2nd doses.

13. Azar explains that in 2 weeks time, states that aren't using their supplies quickly enough will get fewer doses — distribution won't be simply by population.
Asked if the Biden administration, which will be in power in 2 wks time, agrees, Azar says there's 1 govt at a time.