The record-breaking creation of Covid-19 vaccines was a triumph. So why does it take so long to vaccinate Americans?
The answer begins with tens of millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines that were left unused in medical freezers across the US in the early weeks of launch.
In the launch, the federal government set aside far more doses for nursing homes than were the required facilities. A fragmented chain of communication between federal authorities that dispense doses and the local websites that eventually inject it leaves the inents in the dark about how many patients they can plan. Some hospitals and health departments are concerned about limited supplies, and have withheld doses to make sure they have enough to administer the second shots to staff or to keep appointments, creating a bottleneck for the outflow.
Vaccinations are now increasing. But early obstacles could expand the pandemic and leave more people without protection. Health officials say the new coronavirus variants, which appear to spread more easily, make the spread of vaccines more urgent.
The Trump administration has invested heavily in rapid vaccine development, but it has left the last mile to get shots in the arms at states and localities. This approach has led to multiple, sometimes conflicting systems, and has failed to ensure that local websites have information about the vaccines they need to deliver shots quickly.