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An increase in vaccinations in the coming weeks alone may not be enough to contain the spread of a coronavirus variant, which was first reported in the UK in December and has now emerged in the US, said Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner for food and drug delivery.

The emergence of variants could complicate efforts to reopen the economy in the United States, which, according to Johns Hopkins University, had at least 475,000 virus deaths more than any other country.

The UK first reported the strain known as B117 to the World Health Organization in December, and now there are 971 cases in 37 US states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Right now they are shipping 11 million cans a week in states. That will likely increase,” said Gottlieb, who served as FDA chief under former President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019, in CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith”. on Thursday. “So we’re increasing the vaccination rate across the country. Well, will it be fast enough to get a backstop against B117 – probably not by itself.”

Gottlieb said he doesn’t think travel restrictions could stop the spread of the B117 variant because it can often be too late. A “seasonal setback” in the form of the arrival of spring and summer could help reduce the spread of B117, said Gottlieb, a director of Pfizer, whose Covid vaccine is sold in the United States

He said that hopefully a combination of this and increasing vaccinations will include the variant in most parts of the country, although there may be hotspots in southern parts of California and Florida.

President Joe Biden makes brief remarks before signing several immigration control bylaws for his administration in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on February 2, 2021.

Doug Mills | Getty Images

President Joe Biden announced Thursday that his administration had signed contracts for an additional 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, bringing the US total to 600 million.

“We just signed the final contracts for 100 million more Moderna and 100 million more Pfizer vaccines just this afternoon,” said Biden on Thursday during a tour of the National Institutes of Health in late July.

The Washington Post reported the news first. Previously, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain appeared to confirm the news and retweet the Post story from his official White House Twitter account.

Since both Pfizer and Moderna approved vaccines require two doses three to four weeks apart, a total of 600 million doses would be enough to vaccinate 300 million people.

Biden is trying to accelerate the pace of vaccination in the US after a slower-than-expected rollout under the administration of former President Donald Trump. Around 34.7 million out of around 331 million Americans have received at least their first dose of a Covid vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And 11.2 million of those people have already got their second shot.

The schedule for delivering the additional doses was not immediately clear.

Each company will leverage US-based manufacturing capabilities to “fill, finish, and ship vials while the bulk goods are manufactured,” according to a separate statement from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Pfizer has already signed a contract with the US to supply 200 million cans. The company announced earlier this month that it plans to complete these shipments by May, earlier than originally forecast in July. Moderna also has a US contract for 200 million cans.

States have complained that the demand for vaccines is exceeding supply. The government previously stated that it is using the Defense Manufacturing Act to help Pfizer meet its manufacturing goals for its vaccine.

In addition to securing more doses for states, the Biden government is using the military to aid in the administration of doses and establishing mass vaccination centers in the United States.

On Wednesday, the government announced it would work with Texas officials to build three new community vaccination centers in Dallas, Arlington and Houston. A few days earlier, the government had announced that it would send troops on active duty to California to help vaccination centers for Covid-19 employees.

U.S. officials also hope vaccine supplies will increase after Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine is emergency approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which could happen as early as this month. The FDA scheduled a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products on February 26th to discuss the vaccine. The US could approve the vaccine the next day.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced in August that it had signed a deal with Janssen, J & J’s pharmaceutical subsidiary, worth approximately $ 1 billion for 100 million doses of its vaccine. The deal gives the federal government the opportunity to order another 200 million cans, according to the announcement.

A health care worker wearing a protective mask fills a syringe with a dose of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a large-scale vaccination site in Sacramento, Calif., On February 4, 2021.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

As the Covid-19 vaccination efforts begin at major retailers and pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens, what to do with excess vaccine becomes a bigger question.

Both versions of the vaccine must be stored at very low temperatures. Once thawed, the vaccine must be administered within hours. In addition, vaccine bottles contain multiple doses.

The companies told the Wall Street Journal that they are planning to use waiting lists and will consider vaccinating employees who are eligible when excess supplies become available. The aim is not to waste any doses that are still tight.

Starting Thursday, vaccine doses will be sent to thousands of pharmacies and grocery stores such as CVS and Walmart across the US. This move will begin with approximately 6,500 retail locations and will help accelerate adoption and ensure more Americans are protected from Covid-19.

The companies schedule appointments based on the amount of vaccine they receive at each location. However, you could get an excess vaccine if customers don’t show up for an appointment or if a vaccine bottle contains more vaccine than expected.

Currently, only two vaccines, one from Pfizer-BioNTech and one from Moderna, have received emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Both types require two doses of the shot to take effect.

Retailers must adhere to different state and local rules for licensing requirements when managing waiting lists and what to do with excess doses. In some states, retail workers qualify for the vaccine, while in other states they are not considered a high priority group unless they are over a certain age or have a specific illness.

A Walmart spokeswoman told the newspaper that the retailer has reached out to buyers or workers who qualify under a state’s guidelines to get vaccinated in the event of oversupply.

Walmart worked with state health departments on logs to avoid waste, a Walmart spokesman told CNBC. These protocols allow the administration of excess opened and available doses to individuals, including employees, who fall under authorized groups in order of priority.

A Walgreens spokesman told CNBC that they will consider their staff for the remaining doses and will communicate with state and local jurisdictions about any excess doses.

In the meantime, CVS pharmacists will keep a list of qualified patients by state and use that list to determine who will receive the remaining doses of the vaccine, CVS Health senior vice president Chris Cox told CNBC.

Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal.

Courtney Senechal, RN, prepares to administer the second Moderna vaccine for Covid-19 on January 19, 2021 at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center in Boston.

Jonathan Wiggs | Boston Globe | Getty Images

According to the latest CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey, little more than one in five small business owners (22%) will require their employees to receive Covid-19 vaccines as they become available. Twice as many (42%) say they will not require vaccinations.

The question of whether workers need to be vaccinated as soon as possible has become a controversial issue in the business world. With little guidance from the federal government, business leaders had to make their own decisions.

Some business owners consider vaccinations to be the key to a full reopening, some companies even incentivize vaccinated workers, while others want to avoid going overboard. The new survey, conducted January 25-31 of 2,157 small business owners across the country using SurveyMonkey’s online platform, and based on the survey methodology, shows particular reluctance among the small business community, which had struggled last year to to adapt to the pandemic.

More than four in ten small business owners (43%) said they had to shut down at some point due to the pandemic, including 20% ​​who said they have since reopened with limited capacity. 10% who say they haven’t reopened yet; and even 4% who say they shut down, reopened, and then shut down again.

Hardly more than half of small business owners (55%) state that they can continue to work for more than a year under the current terms and conditions. For these small businesses, a widespread vaccine rollout can be the key to a full reopening.

While small business owners overall have a limited enthusiasm for vaccination requirements, certain industries seem more open to the idea than others, especially those that rely on close personal interactions between customers and employees.

Restaurants, hospitality most likely to vaccinate

Small business owners in the accommodation and catering industry – e.g. B. restaurants, bars, casinos, B & Bs, caterers – most often indicate willingness to ask their employees to be vaccinated. But even among this group the enthusiasm is not widespread.

About 28% say they will prescribe the vaccine to their employees as soon as it is available to them, while another 33% say they are not sure yet. Both are well above the overall average. Only 32% now say they are sure that their employees do not need to be vaccinated – 10 points less than the overall average.

Q1 2021 CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey

Small business owners in the hospitality and catering industries are some of the hardest hit during 2020, and this continues to this day. Only 42% say their business stayed open throughout the pandemic, which is below the overall average of 54%. Less than half (45%) say they can survive for more than a year under the current business conditions.

Some big players in the industry have already stepped up to push their workers to vaccinate, whether they ask for it or just strongly encourage them. Marriott and Chipotle have both asked their employees to get vaccinated, but neither makes it a requirement. Darden restaurants, owned by chains like the Olive Garden and Outback Steakhouse, go so far as to pay workers to vaccinate.

By encouraging their employees to get vaccinated, entrepreneurs are trying to walk a fine line. Surveys have consistently shown that in this increasingly partisan environment, every statement about vaccinations is viewed through a partisan lens.

Partisan difference in vaccines remains

In the latest survey results, small business owners who identify as Democrats are more than twice as likely as Republicans to say they ask their employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine (39% versus 14%). This gap is larger than any other gap, including by industry, number of employees, or type of business.

This gap is also consistent with similar differences between Republicans and Democrats: in their support for workers who need to be vaccinated and in their own willingness to be vaccinated.

In Gallup’s latest poll, 91% of Democrats but only 51% of Republicans say they would be willing to get the Covid-19 vaccine now if they could get the vaccine for free.

In our last CNBC | SurveyMonkey Workforce Survey, conducted among more than 9,000 workers across the country in November, said 75% of Democrats said they support mandatory vaccinations in their workplace as soon as they are widely available, compared with just 41% of Republicans.

In recent polls by the Kaiser Family Foundation, exactly twice as many Democrats as Republicans said they have already received the vaccine or plan to get it as soon as possible (64% versus 32%). Their poll also reveals a more fundamental party divide: 71% of Republicans say choosing to get vaccinated is “a personal choice,” while 70% of Democrats say choosing to get vaccinated ” Part of everyone’s responsibility is to protect the health of others. ”

Basically, this is the same question small business owners face when weighing competing needs: letting their employees choose what is best for their own health, rather than making a management decision about what is best for the entire company the best is.

On Thursday, Comcast launched NBCUniversal Plan Your Vaccine, a nationwide awareness campaign, website and interactive tool that provides the latest news and information on when and where people can get the COVID-19 vaccine.