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Picking up the pace with rollout of COVID-19 vaccines

Mayo Clinic medical staff in Rochester, wearing PPE, inspecting a box of Pfizer vaccine vials after arrival

Picking up the pace with rollout of COVID-19 vaccines
Jan. 20, 2021

The distribution kinks for COVID-19 vaccines are getting ironed out, says Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.

"It's a logistics nightmare, but now you're seeing a plan to administer 1 million doses a day and I think that's very achievable," says Dr. Poland. "And the production of the vaccine is just going to accelerate."

Dr. Poland also repeats the reminders about preventing transmission of COVID-19:

  • Wear a mask.
  • Wash your hands.
  • Keep your social distance. 

"The current estimates are that in the next four weeks, we'll probably have about another 100,000 deaths," adds Dr. Poland. "It's stunning when you think about 1 out of every 860 Americans has now died of this."

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Poland talks more about the rollout, transmission and herd immunity, as well as fertility issues related to COVID-19, survivor brain fog and more.

Research disclosures for Dr. Gregory Poland.