Biden to deploy FEMA and National Guard for expanded vaccine rollout

Joe Biden has pledged to deploy the US National Guard and FEMA resources to distribute Covid-19 vaccines across the US as part of a vaccine plan aimed at rapidly speeding up inoculations after a stalled rollout under Donald Trump’s administration that fell significantly short of its goals.

The president-elect, days before his inauguration on 20 January, will propose “new, federally supported community vaccination centres” and mobilise “thousands” of staff and contractors. He also pledged to fully reimburse states that rely on their own National Guard to help distribute vaccines.

More than 31 million doses have been distributed as of 15 January, though only 12.2 million have received a shot, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 1.6 million people have received both doses of the two fast-tracked vaccines.

More follows…