Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services, said on Wednesday he advises states to vaccinate lower-priority groups against Covid-19 if the doses there are otherwise put in freezers.
“It would be much better to move quickly and eventually vaccinate people with less priority than to have vaccines put in while states try to manage this process,” Azar said in a briefing, expressing frustration over the rate of vaccinations. .
“Faster administration can currently save lives, which means we can not let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” he said.
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The comments indicate that states will have the Trump administration’s blessing to deviate from national guidance on vaccination priorities, and that they should not worry too much if hospitals or health care providers use doses out of order.
About 17.3 million doses of vaccines were distributed to states, while 5.3 million people received an initial dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Azar presented Florida as an example of a state that has adjusted criteria for who is eligible to receive a vaccine dose so that the limited supply reaches people who need it. Azar said he spoke by telephone earlier Wednesday with the government of Florida, Ron DeSantis, a Republican.
DeSantis said two weeks ago that it would make Covid-19 vaccines available to people 65 and older, and put them in front of others who are younger but have jobs that put them at risk. The decision caused chaos and disappointment especially among people who did not get appointments.
Florida has so far stood only in the middle of the pack for vaccinations as part of its population.
There has been a nationwide debate over who should be given preference for vaccinations. Although the CDC has issued guidelines, it is ultimately up to states to determine people’s place in line – and how strictly to enforce the order.
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New Jersey health commissioner Judith Persichilli said Wednesday that her state will not be rigid because it moves through different priority groups.
“It is not necessary to vaccinate all individuals in one phase before starting the next phase,” she said during an information session.
“The phases may in fact overlap,” she added. ‘The movement between phases will be very fluid. One phase will overlap with each other. We will not wait for all individuals to be vaccinated in one phase before opening up to additional groups. ”
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