Netanyahu: We will be the first to emerge from the 1:51 pandemic
Washington (CNN) -
The Trump administration enters 2021 well short of its goal of vaccinating 20 million people by January 1, leaving state health officials across the country scrambling to accelerate a massive effort to vaccine distribution that is crucial to defeating the pandemic and yet faces critical delays.
So far, just over 12.4 million doses have been distributed to states, but the delay is also that only 2.8 million vaccines have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
LOOK: Israel is world champion in vaccinations, says Netanyahu about inoculation against covid-19
Some states have expressed disappointment with the vaccine's delay, acknowledging their own problems, but also seeking more federal resources amid concerns about the burden they now have: getting vaccines into the arms of patients.
In several cases, local problems on the ground have created their own delays, not to mention dangerous and costly mistakes.
In West Virginia, for example, 42 people mistakenly received a COVID-19 antibody treatment instead of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the West Virginia National Guard.
In Wisconsin, police arrested a recently fired pharmacist who they say removed 57 vials of Moderna vaccine from the refrigerator at a local hospital and intentionally left them outside, causing 500 doses to be thrown away.
Without a federal mandate on how to administer the vaccine, it is up to the states to decide who gets the vaccine and when, creating a confusing mosaic of rules that vary widely across the country, and a delay.
While some states focus exclusively on healthcare workers, others have started vaccinating the elderly and other frontline workers as well.
advertising
Argentina has already started the production of the AstraZeneca 2:50 vaccine
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced that people over 80 were eligible to receive the vaccine on Wednesday, while the Tennessee Department of Health said it would begin administering the vaccine to residents 75 and older, teachers. and child care workers.
Florida has implemented a county-by-county plan to vaccinate its elderly population, leading to multi-hour lines at vaccination sites in a southwestern Florida county distributing the vaccine on a first-come, first-served basis.
Texas has only distributed a third of the vaccines it has received so far, according to figures released in the state's vaccine control panel.
And in Ohio, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said he is dissatisfied with the number of vaccines that have been administered in his state, as well as the compliance of those in priority groups who choose to receive the vaccine.
Vaccine Delays: "No Federal Organization"
Several states have also said it has been difficult to plan a vaccine distribution when their supply numbers from the Trump administration are constantly changing and they only receive information on the vaccine supply once a week.
"There is no federal organization, there is no federal implementation, there is no coordination between the federal government and state governments," Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, a Democrat, said on CNN on Thursday.
MIRA: Independent medical union asks the Nicaraguan government to present a vaccination plan against covid-19
Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, on Friday criticized the Trump administration's vaccine distribution effort as "woefully overdue."
"That comprehensive vaccination plans have not been developed at the federal level and sent to the states as models is as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable," he said in a statement.
Romney urged the federal government to recruit people with prior vaccine delivery experience and medical workers who are not currently involved in providing care, as well as to create vaccination sites in every state and schedule vaccinations for people.
"Unless new strategies and plans are put in place, fatal vaccine delays can worsen as larger and more complex populations are added," Romney said.
We're already late;
urgent action now can help us catch up. '
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday on NBC's "Today" show that the federal government could still help states increase vaccine distribution without checking every step.
LOOK: It will take months before vaccines are widespread enough to change the course of the pandemic, experts say
"Instead of stepping in and taking over, I think maybe it's better to give more resources and work with them, along with them," said Fauci, who also advises President-elect Joe Biden.
"In other words, not saying that we are going to take control, we are going to do your job, but to say that we will actually help you do your job, particularly by providing you with many more resources."
States are realizing, however, that they aren't getting a huge funding boost from the federal government for now, after Congress passed the latest stimulus bill without billions of dollars in state and local aid to the that the Republicans had opposed.
Trump administration officials insist a delay in distributing the vaccine in the states is one reason for the low numbers, but acknowledged this week that even with the delay, the numbers are behind and the federal government must do. a better job of addressing bottlenecks.
"We know it should be better and we are working hard to improve it," Dr Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific advisor for Operation Warp Speed, told a news conference on Wednesday.
Vaccine