Fauci thinks momentum will swing toward vaccinating at least 1 million people per day in U.S.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, told The Associated Press he thinks the "glitches" in the United States' COVID-19 vaccination program, which has moved more slowly than anticipated, "have been worked out."

In fact, he's feeling optimistic enough to predict that with the holiday season ending, the process will gain momentum, leading to at least 1 million Americans getting vaccinated per day. That would mean President-elect Joe Biden's goal of hitting 100 million vaccinations within in his first 100 days in office is still a "very realistic, important, achievable goal."

Fauci isn't alone. Several experts expect the effort to pick up steam in the days and weeks ahead, including Nancy Messionier, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "I really expect the pace of administration to go up pretty massively in the next couple weeks," she told Stat News. Read more from Fauci and Messioner at The Associated Press and Stat News, respectively.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up