Lawmakers declare ‘twist’ in distributing COVID vaccines in Alabama – ‘Our citizens pay a lethal price’
The launch of the COVID-19 vaccine in Alabama has had a fair number of critics, mainly for the last place in the country of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and for a hotline drawn up by the Alabama Department . of Public Health (ADPH) for vaccine appointments, which is sometimes overwhelming.
State Health Officer, dr. Scott Harris, disputed the CDC’s findings, arguing that it would not consider the state’s updated data that would have made Alabama in the middle class. He told APTV’s “Capitol Journal” that the solution to all the problems facing the state would be to have more of the vaccine available.
A handful of senators in Alabama have taken note of the shortcomings and are urging ADPH officials to handle the data and report to the CDC, which will help the state avoid issues about the award in the future. In a joint letter, the statesmen warn. Jim McClendon (R-Springville), Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), Tom Whatley (R-Auburn) and Randy Price (R-Opelika) that Alabama citizens pay a ‘lethal price’ because of the state of Alabama’s struggle .
“We always knew that spreading the Covid vaccine supply would be difficult, especially in the beginning,” the senators said. ‘While the supply pipeline is definitely a problem, our pipeline in Alabama has a twist. The distribution of vaccines to Alabama will continue to be interrupted until Alabama complies with the rules. The rule is simple: the CDC may not allow shipments to Alabama until they know we are using what we have. Our citizens are paying a deadly price. ‘
According to the legislators, ADPH had to play by the rules of the CDC and said that the following questions could not be adequately answered by ADPH:
1. How many doses did we receive in Alabama?
2. How many doses were distributed to places in the state?
3. How many doses were taken in the arms?
4. How many doses in the arms have been reported to the CDC?
‘If the Alabama Department of Public Health does not know the answer [to] these questions, then the CDC certainly does not know, and it makes no sense to send additional doses to Alabama, ‘their letter added.
The statement set out proposals to resolve the issues.
Sens.McClendon, Albritton, Whatley and Price letter in full below:
McClendon is chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Albritton is chairman of the Senate Committee on General Fund for Finance and Taxation and Whatley is chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
The Alabama Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Yellowhammer News.
UPDATE 16:30
ADPH issued a written statement in response to the senators’ letter.
The department said it wanted to “correct any misunderstanding about the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine”.
Declaration of ADPH as follows:
The department is in regular communication with our elected officials in Alabama and has described in detail the process of our weekly vaccines per capita. The number of COVID-19 vaccine doses assigned to Alabama is based on our population and is not determined by how much vaccine is available in the state. The number of doses remaining from previous grants does not affect the number of doses authorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for Alabama.
ADPH has held ongoing talks with CDC to provide our numbers in Alabama.
Although the department is working with CDC to resolve data issues experienced as a result of a response of this magnitude, it does not in any way affect the number of doses Alabama receives.
The data to answer all the questions asked in the letter is publicly available on the ADPH COVID-19 vaccine distribution panel, which is available on the ADPH website (arcg.is/OrCey) and is from 19 January 2021 updated. The CDC’s data is available on the vaccination tracker website (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker / #vaentings), although CDC has not updated Alabama’s information since January 15, 2021.
Suppliers must report federally within 24 hours of administering the vaccine. ADPH uses the Integrated Technology Immunization Patient Register (ImmPRINT) to collect this information. Staff work with suppliers if help is needed.
The biggest obstacle to vaccination in Alabama is the limited amount of vaccine. Alabama currently has approximately 676,000 people in Alabama who are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but since our state only allocates approximately 50,000 – 60,000 primary doses each week, the inventory is not yet available to reach these numbers. .
Every day, ADPH receives thousands of calls, e-mails and social media messages from people who make suggestions to speed up the vaccination process. We appreciate any recommendations, and would like the public to rest assured that ADPH has a tremendous staff of physicians, nurses, public health experts, and other medical professionals who continue to work tirelessly to vaccinate vaccines in Alabama. A vaccination plan of this size is truly unprecedented, and ADPH is grateful for everyone’s continued patience as we work to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s The Jeff Poor Show ‘from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.