The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is forecasting that there will be more than 500,000 deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. by the third week of February. In the meantime, the U.S. vaccine rollout fell short of federal projections, according to Bloomberg News, which noted that the initial round of shots, delivered through early January, was distributed through hospitals.

Then there’s the disturbing trend of vaccine hesitancy. Driven by misinformation, lack of trust, and concerns about safety and efficacy, vaccine hesitancy is considered to be one of the top global health threats, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

During Part II of Vaccination Nation, an exclusive series produced by ICD10monitor for Talk Ten Tuesdays, program host and executive producer Chuck Buck and co-host Erica Remer, MD will conduct a live town hall, answering listeners’ questions in real time. Remer is a volunteer inoculator with the Medical Reserve Corps of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health in Ohio.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has now resulted in more than 104 million cases worldwide, as well as 2.27 million deaths. More than 27 million of those cases and nearly 460,000 deaths have occurred in the U.S. alone.

Two companies, Moderna and Pfizer, have had their COVID vaccines approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since vaccine distribution began in the U.S. in mid-December 2020, more than 29 million doses have been administered, reaching 7.2 percent of the total U.S. population, according to federal data recently collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and reported on by NPR.

A third company, Johnson & Johnson, is expected to apply for FDA approval for its single-dose vaccine shortly, and company officials have said they will be able to produce 100 million doses by June. Officials with both Moderna and Pfizer have reportedly said that they plan to have produced 200 million doses apiece by the summer.

The live broadcast will also feature these other segments:

• News Desk: Timothy Powell, compliance expert and ICD10monitor national correspondent, will anchor the Talk Ten Tuesdays News Desk.
  
  
• The Coding Report: Laurie Johnson, senior healthcare consultant for Revenue Cycle Solutions, LLC, will report on the latest ICD-10 codes.