Dr. Marty Makary decries people 'cutting in line' to get coronavirus vaccine

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Dr. Makary: Mortality count 'will be higher' with new COVID-19 strain

Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marty Makary comments on the new coronavirus variant and vaccine effectiveness.

"There's a lot of cutting in line" to get the coronavirus vaccine in the early weeks of nationwide distribution, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marty Makary told "America’s News HQ" Friday.

"Ironically, after all the conversation about Black Lives Matter, here we are with people inserting themselves – people with access, people with wealth, people with connections to the local facilities, and they’re basically saying their life matters more and I think it’s entirely inappropriate," said Makary, who went on to accuse the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of being "way too slow" to clarify who should receive priority access to the vaccine.

"It should go to the highest-risk individuals after it goes to nursing homes and front-line health care workers, not all health care workers," he said. "I’ve taken a pledge not to take the vaccine, along with many health care workers, until every high-risk American has had the opportunity to have it first."

However, according to Makary, the CDC's recommendation that "health care personnel" receive priority access to the vaccine has led to the likes of cosmetic surgeons, hospital board members and spouses of health care workers getting the shot "inappropriately."

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The Fox News medical contributor also questioned the decision by some states to "hold back 50% of the vaccine supply so people could be sure to get a second dose."

"That was a mistake, in my opinion," he said. "The strategy should have been give it out to as many people as possible."

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Makary noted that nearly 5% of the U.K. population has already been vaccinated, while not even 1% of the U.S. population has been dosed.