This week on THE DEBRIEF podcast, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and podcast host Major Garrett explores the obstacles to mass vaccination, why some states are doing better than others and whether President Biden and his administration’s goals are achievable. The latest episode of THE DEBRIEF with MAJOR GARRETT is out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever podcasts are available.

Excerpts from this week’s episode:

• “I don’t see how anybody right now, although it’s certainly still happening, can minimize this and say, well, this is a hoax and it’s not a big deal,” said CBS News chief medical correspondent Jon LaPook. “I mean, it couldn’t be more clear that this is the crisis, the health crisis of our lifetime.”

• “Whenever I get frustrated with some of the things that are going on around the country and listen to people’s concerns about not being able to get vaccinated, I try and remember to take a step back and just say, wow, it is amazing that we have in terms of what is working is that that vaccines are flowing in in every state, in every territory and our tribal lands,” said Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

• “I would say that the single biggest frustration for every State Department of Health, for every CEO running a major health care system is that we have no transparency as I sit here today on what a predictable weekly supply of vaccines for us is,” said Kenneth Samet, the president and CEO of MedStar Health.

• “Being able to mount a countrywide effort of this size, magnitude and imperative importance, nobody thought was going to be easy, but it has been a lot harder than I would say that it needs to be,” said Lucinda Maine, executive vice president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Follow Major Garrett on Twitter at @MajorCBS and THE DEBRIEF at @TheDebriefCBS. Discover more CBS News podcasts at cbsaudio.com/podcasts.

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