The coronavirus vaccine may end the pandemic at some point, but for now its slow response is exacerbating relations between the federal government and states and cities, adding another major challenge for over-stressed health departments.
In a tweet On Friday, President Trump said the states were to blame for the slow start of vaccination of Americans, following the federal government’s “successful and very large distribution of vaccines.”
But Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the coronavirus infected a new person in Los Angeles County every six seconds, and the number of people hospitalized in Covid-19 in California more than doubled within a month is the slow vaccine distribution was not acceptable.
The Trump administration said 20 million people would be vaccinated by the end of 2020. The figure was closer to four million.
“We are currently at a pace of delivering vaccines over five years in LA, instead of more than half a year,” he said. Garcetti said on the CBS program “Face the Nation.” He criticized the Trump administration for not planning ahead by training more medical workers to administer the vaccine and for not providing enough assistance to state and local governments.
“The federal government cannot tell local governments and state governments to do something and not help us,” he said.
On December 27, Congress approved a stimulus package that would provide $ 9 billion for vaccination costs, in addition to the $ 340 million that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention sent to states in September and December. But the new funds come long after local health departments – already overloaded with mass tests and contact tracing efforts – had to start planning and administering vaccines.
The process is embarking on a new chaos as public health departments make the vaccine available to high-risk members of the general public. In Houston, the city’s health system’s telephone system collapsed on Saturday, the first day of a free vaccination clinic, after receiving more than 250,000 calls.
Elderly people in Tullahoma, Tennessee, lined up on a sidewalk on Saturday, leaned on walkers and sat in grass chairs, wrapped in blankets and heavy coats, to wait until the county health department opens its free clinic. The clinic has its supply of vaccine before 10 am
States said their efforts were beginning to build momentum, and that some of the initial problems had been worked out.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on Sunday that the slow vaccination of the vaccination campaign was partly due to the holidays when many public health workers were on holiday. It was also a time when virus cases were increasing nationwide, which had fewer local public health resources available than when the vaccine arrived when the cases were under control.
“The good news is that we are seeing it rise rapidly thanks to our state partners,” said Dr. Adams said in the CNN program “State of the Union.” “In the last 72 hours, we’ve seen 1.5 million first shots.”
He said it was not a surprise that the program failed.
“It will always be the most difficult vaccination in history, even if it is not placed on top of a boom and a holiday period,” said Dr. Adams said and repeated a message he attributed to dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert on infectious diseases.
The Second Stimulus
Answers to your questions about the stimulus bill
Updated on December 30, 2020
The economic relief package will pay $ 600 and distribute a $ 300 federal unemployment benefit for at least 10 weeks. Find out more about the benchmark and what’s in it for you. Consult our Help Hub for more information on how to get help.
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- Will I receive another stimulus payment? Individual adults with adjusted gross income on their 2019 tax returns of up to $ 75,000 per year receive a payment of $ 600, and a couple (or someone whose spouse passed away in 2020) earns up to $ 150,000 per year receive two times the amount. There is also a payment of $ 600 per family for families who meet the income requirements. People who file taxes with the head of household status and earn up to $ 112,500 also get $ 600, plus the extra amount for children. People with incomes just above these levels will receive a partial payment that decreases by $ 5 for every $ 100 of income.
- When will my payment possibly arrive? The department of treasury said on December 29 that it had started making direct deposit payments and would start mailing the checks the next day. But it will take a while before all eligible people receive their money.
- Does the agreement have an effect on unemployment insurance? Legislators have agreed to extend the time people can collect, unemployment benefits and start again an extra federal benefit offered above the regular state benefit. But instead of $ 600 a week, that would be $ 300. It will run until March 14.
- I’m behind on my rent or expecting to be soon. Will I get any relief? The deal provides $ 25 billion distributed by state and local governments to help tenants who have fallen behind. To receive assistance, households must meet several conditions: Household income (for 2020) may not exceed 80 per cent of the area’s median income; at least one household member must be at risk of homelessness or housing; and individuals must qualify for unemployment benefits or have experienced financial hardship – directly or indirectly – as a result of the pandemic. The agreement states that assistance will be prioritized for families with lower incomes and who have been unemployed for three months or more.
Another obstacle is now occurring, one of which is dr. Adams said he was “terribly worried” about persuading enough Americans to take the vaccine.
In Ohio, for example, government Mike DeWine said about 60 percent of nursing home workers in the state have so far refused to be vaccinated, a statistic he repeated in a television appearance Sunday. Mr DeWine did not elaborate on where the figure came from; his office referred inquiries to the health department, which did not respond to inquiries on Sunday.
The figure was true for Pete Van Runkle, executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association, which represents about two-thirds of Ohio’s competent nursing homes. In talks with the members of the association, Mr. Van Runkle said many people report that less than half of their employees prefer to receive the vaccine, and one says only 30 percent have done so.
Mr. Van Runkle attributed the low figures to misinformation and fear, and expressed the hope that the reluctant workers would change their minds after seeing colleagues vaccinated without adverse consequences.
“People are prone to the wrong information,” he said. “If they see what real life brings, it will hopefully make a difference.”
In an appearance on CNN Sunday, Governor DeWine said that the low acceptance rates among nursing homes upset him, and that it would cause more education efforts about the safety of the vaccine. He noted that nursing homes that taught their workers early on about the vaccine fared much better.
“You have a risk,” he said of workers in nursing homes, “but the people in that nursing home have a risk, and this survey does work and is very safe.”
In Los Angeles, which has become one of the country’s worst places for coronavirus, Mayor Garcetti warned that mask orders and restrictions on businesses were not enough to slow down the virus in private settings, where people were let down.
“It’s something that’s spreading in the house right now,” he said. Garcetti said. “This is a message for the whole of America: we may not all have the same density as LA, but what is happening in LA can and will come in many communities.”