MADISON (WKOW) – Democratic Gov. Tony Evers (D – WI) has joined fellow Democratic governors in Michigan and Minnesota in writing a letter accusing US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar of misleading statements. over a reserve of vaccine doses.
The letter is based on a report Friday from the Washington Post. The report found that the reserve, which the troubled state leaders thought was being held for second doses, actually went out at the end of December.
“It has become very clear that the Trump administration has not only undermined the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine,” reads the letter signed by Evers, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Gov. Tim Walz (D -MN). . “But also that the American people have been deceived about these delays.”
The letter last week referred to a letter from the governors of nine states asking HHS about the millions of reserve doses.
According to the letter, Azar agreed last week to release the reserved doses, even though it was already gone.
The governors referred to Thursday’s announcement by Pzifer that he had millions of doses in custody but had not received the federal government’s guidance on where to go.
‘If you do not want the offer or do not want to, we ask you to grant it
permission for us to purchase vaccines directly so that we can distribute them as quickly as possible among the residents of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, ”reads the letter.
The governors also wrote that they also understand that the federal government has yet to pay for all the doses set aside for the United States.
“We urge the Trump administration to do the same.
buy as many doses of the safe and effective vaccine as soon as possible, “reads the letter. So that we can work together in the coming weeks to get more shots in the arms. “
The full letter is available here.