The previous forecast, published in February, projected up to 559,000 deaths by March 13.

Vaccinating as many people as possible will also be a big help in slowing any more surges -- and the vaccine arsenal may be bolstered soon.

Johnson & Johnson's single-dose Covid-19 vaccine has met the US Food and Drug Administration's requirements for emergency use authorization, or EUA, the agency said Wednesday in an analysis.

The efficacy of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against moderate to severe/critical Covid-19 across all geographic areas was 66.9% at least 14 days after the single dose vaccination and 66.1% at least 28 days after vaccination, states the analysis for the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, independent group of FDA advisers.

An analysis of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine "supported a favorable safety profile with no specific safety concerns identified that would preclude issuance of an EUA," according to a 62-page briefing document released by the FDA on Wednesday.

The advisory committee meets Friday and will consider the documents and make a recommendation about whether Johnson & Johnson's vaccine should be authorized.

Pending emergency use authorization, the Biden administration is preparing rollout plans for 3 million to 4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week, White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said

Still, the new, infectious variants make it "difficult to prevent a fourth wave altogether," said Dr.

People over 65 should go to the front of the line since they're by far the most vulnerable to severe disease and death, according to a recommendation from Mike Osterholm and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.

The group called on the FDA and CDC vaccine advisers to be quickly convened and determine whether data supports the group's recommendations, including deferring second vaccine doses to after the coming surge.

"There is a narrow and rapidly closing window of opportunity to more effectively use vaccines and potentially prevent thousands of severe cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the next weeks and months," the report said.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson, which could get the green light for its own Covid-19 vaccine from the FDA later this week, has pledged to make 20 million doses available in that same time frame.

So far, about 44.5 million Americans have received at least their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to CDC data.

The supply of Covid-19 vaccine doses allocated to states and retail pharmacies is increasing nearly 70%, from 8.6 million doses in January to 14.5 million doses this week, Zients said Wednesday.

Among one of several challenges that states are facing while getting shots in arms is racial disparities.