Trump administration officials at Operation Warp Speed acknowledged that the effects of the coronavirus vaccine were slower than expected and that by the end of the month it would be ‘unlikely’ to meet its target. of 20 million vaccinations.
The process was ‘slower than we thought it would be’, said Dr. Moncef Slaoui, who used the government’s efforts to speed up the production and distribution of vaccines, told reporters during a press conference last week, adding that the target of 20 million two-dose vaccinations is unlikely to be met.
The Trump administration has repeatedly said it was aiming to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of the year. About 2 million people have been vaccinated by Dec. 28, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though administrative officials say there is a delay in the data.
“By the end of December, we expect to have about 40 million doses [Pfizer and Moderna] vaccines available for distribution, “said Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services, last month. Enough to vaccinate 20 million of our most vulnerable Americans.
Slaoui told reporters earlier this month that the Trump administration’s efforts to boost vaccine production “allow us to be confident that we will be able to distribute enough vaccine to immunize 20 million people in the US in December” “That’s 40 million doses.”
Slaoui admitted last week that the process of getting ‘shots in the arms’ was slower than expected, and ‘the commitment we can make is to make the vaccine dose available.’
But Genl. Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, told a news conference last week that only half of the promised doses would be distributed to states by January.
“We have allocated 15.5 million doses of vaccine and we are about to allocate another 4.5 to 5 million next week, which will bring us to 20 million doses of vaccine that were allocated to America before the end of the year. , “he said. “We will complete the deliveries in the first week of January.”
Perna, who is accused of overseeing the vaccination logistics of vaccines, said the government had done a “good job” so far with the distribution of the Pfizer and Modern vaccines, but acknowledged that there were already problems wash.
“We had a handful of parcels we were trying to deliver that were not destined for the right place, but we caught them before they were unloaded and we redirected them to the right place,” he said. “And we had some … shipments that did not go out on the right day.”
Perna had earlier said there were also temperature problems with thousands of doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, which should be stored around 70 degrees Celsius.
Government officials across the country also complained that the allocation of vaccines had been abruptly cut earlier this month. Pfizer said it had millions of doses in warehouses just waiting for delivery instructions.
Perna told reporters he takes “personal responsibility for the wrong communication” with state governments.
“There is a delay between what is available and what can be released,” he said, “because we are talking about hundreds and thousands and millions of doses that we want to ensure are right.”
‘We have all made the mistake or mistake by assuming that the vaccine that is actually produced and released is already available for dispatch, when in fact there is a delay of two days between the time we generate a lot of data which it shows vaccination bottle is in fact safe and right and the time we can send, ”Slaoui later told CNN.
“The FDA needs to receive certain documentation,” he added. “And that’s really where that delay period led to differences between what was in the plan and what was actually done. I think we addressed that.”
Stephen Hanh, Head of the Food and Drug Administration, said that Pfizer and Moderna must “submit certificates for each lot at least 48 hours before the distribution of vaccines for each lot,” but they “can distribute without waiting for FDA approval.”
State officials also warned that Trump’s delay in the coronavirus virus bill, which he finally signed Sunday, also prevented billions in funding for the distribution of vaccines.
“Every minute of delay affects how many people can get the vaccine and when,” Adriane Casalotti of the National Association of County and City Health Officials told CNBC.
Pfizer also said the Trump administration had turned down the chance to buy an additional 100 million doses for next spring, although the company later said it had reached an agreement requiring the government to pass the law on Defense Production should call to increase the company’s production capacity after months. of the resistance of the White House. Using the Defense Production Act, a wartime law that allows the president to require companies to help with the production needed for national security, Pfizer will be able to obtain enough raw materials by July to To produce 100 million more doses. Pfizer had earlier halved its estimated production by the end of the year due to raw material shortages.
Elected President Joe Biden will appeal to the Defense Application Act to ‘ensure that the personal protective equipment, testing capabilities and raw materials for the vaccines are adequately supplied’, said Dr. Celine Gounder, a member of Biden’s coronavirus advisory board, told CNBC on Monday.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Who sits on the Senate committee overseeing public health, said he and other Democrats have been trying for nine months to pressure the Trump administration to fully appeal to the DPA.
“They refused, presumably to protect the profits of the private industry,” did he tweet. “There are so many fruits like this hanging low, to make our COVID response better.”