States hit COVID vaccine shortages as fitness increases

U.S. states are finally picking up the pace of their COVID-19 vaccination programs, so much so that many have already vaccinated so many of their health care workers and elderly residents that they are ready to be eligible.

At least 28 states and Washington, DC, have begun vaccinating teachers and at least 19 – including California, New York and Illinois – have started giving shots to people with underlying health conditions that put them at risk.

But encouraging progress is being made as states no longer have to give doses. Some even delay the expansion of the qualification due to shortages.

To date, nearly 53.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in the U.S. and 11.8 percent of the population have had one or more doses.

Just shy of 1.7 million doses are given per day, but states that excel at vaccination, such as West Virginia, are hampered by dose shortages.

West Virginia, with some of the worst mortality rates from despair, obesity and heart disease in the US, has become the dark horse of vaccinations.

According to Bloomberg data, the state has given at least one dose of vaccine to nearly 14 percent of its population – well above the national average.

But the rapid campaign is being delayed, health officials say.

“With a shortage of vaccines nationwide, the state is currently set to vaccinate West Virginians 65 and older, along with health workers and teachers 50 years and older,” said Allison Adler, director of communications for the West Virginia Department. of Health and Human Resources, said. , DailyMail.com said by email.

“Right now, West Virginia needs more vaccinations and continues to ask for more so we can get it in our arms as soon as possible.”

According to the health department’s own vaccination detection, West Virginia gave 254,646 people first doses as of Monday.

It administered an incredible 106.2 percent of its initial doses – an achievement achieved by withdrawing extra doses from the vials of Pfizer’s vaccine and thus increasing the stock.

The state also gave 97.3 percent of the 144.4,000 second doses it granted.

On January 26, President Biden promised that states would have a 16 percent increase in the number of vaccine doses they received the following week, beginning Monday, February 1st.

He also said that states would be notified three weeks in advance how many doses they would receive.

But West Virginia has not seen shipments increase that much.

It has received 11,700 first-dose and 11,700 second-dose Pfizer vaccine since 21 December 2020.

This week, the allocation of doses of Moderna increased to 18,500 from each first and second dose – but that’s just a bump of eight percent from the previous allocation of 17,100 doses per week.

Despite requests to increase delivery, and the remarkably smooth introduction of vaccines in West Virginia, the state needs to ration doses rather than give them to more people.

And it is not the only state that is experiencing this problem.

At least four other states – North Dakota, New Mexico, Utah and Montana – have used more than 90 percent of the doses the federal government receives.

Even states that use a smaller portion of the doses they have been allocated are suspended.

California administered only 74.2 percent of the nearly six million vaccine doses the federal government sent him.

And the state will begin vaccinating residents under 65 and with disabilities or serious underlying health conditions on March 15.

But as of Monday, even people who have already been eligible have struggled to get shots.

Two mass vaccination centers in San Francisco were closed Monday due to a shortage of vaccines.

Sites at Moscone Center and City College in San Francisco will not be able to reopen until they receive their next consignment of vaccines from the federal government.

Illinois and New York also announced last week that they will soon begin vaccinating residents with ‘comorbidities’ that put them at high risk for COVID-19 – including heart disease, diabetes, obesity or pregnancy.

New York began qualifying Monday for anyone over 16 in these categories, despite dwindling stocks, low vaccination rates in rural areas and even some parts of New York, such as the Bronx, as well as about 9,500 residents of nursing homes te ent. .

Governor Andrew Cuomo pointed out on Monday that 10 million people are now eligible for vaccination in New York – but only 300,000 doses are allocated to the state per week.

He blamed the Trump administration.

“The Trump administration has said that they are eligible, and that they will increase the supply of vaccine, so the states have increased the admission, but the Trump administration has increased the supply of vaccines,” Cuomo said during the press briefing. said.

“Bids come in, and basically, what happens is ‘the cupboards are empty,'” he added, referring to a Buffalo News editorial.

Cuomo attributed to Biden’s government that he immediately obtained more doses from manufacturers.

“But there are more people eligible nationwide than there are doses available,” he said.

‘The federal government has increased the suitability, but never increased the supply.

As a result, New York now has ’10 million people chasing 300,000 doses’.

Cuomo has not noticed that the supply of Moderna doses in New York has increased over the past three weeks, and it is expected to be 111,300 doses this week, up from 103,000 the previous week, and 94,200 the week before.

At the current rate at which the state receives doses, it will take 33 weeks to get everyone currently eligible in New York vaccinated.

There will still be 9.46 million New Yorkers in need of vaccines (including children under 16, for whom the FDA has not yet authorized shots).

Teachers in 28 states are now also eligible for vaccination (although some states have restrictions on naming, such as West Virginia, which says only teachers over 50 can get the chance).

These statements are:

The US government now has contracts for 600 million combined doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines – enough for almost the entire US population to receive both doses.

And vaccine manufacturers are working flat out to make more doses, but bottlenecks still worked at the manufacturer and federal distribution levels.