EXCERPT:
HOTEZ: “Look, I think it’s important to have that vaccine out there to make people understand that they are not going to have to practice aggressive social distancing in perpetuity. This is time limited because vaccines are on the other side. And the problem is, people are being incredibly reckless still, that people still think that it’s a hoax or that the deaths from Covid-19 are due to other causes. So we have to send a clear message to the American people, look, don’t lose your life over the next few weeks. I mean, the numbers are just horrible. We’re looking at potentially, 400,000, 500,000 Americans who will lose their life a week or so after the inauguration when all we need to do is get them to the other side, get them vaccinated and they’ll live a normal lifespan. And that’s been a really tough message, especially in the middle part of the country. A lot of the red states especially that still think this is not real.”