Getting Covid-19 vaccination appointments has been a challenge for many Americans because "we're in a situation of undersupply" of vaccine, according to Andy Slavitt, the senior Biden White House adviser for Covid Response.
"We're in a situation, and we will be for a little while, of undersupply," Slavitt told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly on All Things Considered on Monday.
"At one point we thought that there was a lot of manufacturing that had gone on over the last year and that would be the case. It wasn't -- and I think our job is to level with folks," he said.
"But the good news is we are increasing production every week," Slavitt added. "We've increased production that we've delivered to states by over 20%. We're opening 100 community vaccination centers, including two that are open already."
Slavitt said supply has been increasing in recent weeks, but added: "These are all small steps. None of them are silver bullets. I don't think this is going to be the administration that's going to overpromise or promise silver bullets, but these are all small gains."
And he added that in their effort get more people vaccinated against Covid-19, the Biden administration is considering mobile vaccination centers that can travel within a community. "They can go to workplaces, they can go to churches, they can go to communities," Slavitt said.
Elsewhere, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson told CNN the CDC will host a Covid-19 vaccination forum with national, state and local health practitioners on the safest and most effective ways to vaccinate Americans.
The event is scheduled for February 22-24 and will be led by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, along with officials from the White House COVID-19 Response Team and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The initiative was first reported by NBC News.
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