NEW YORK – The pressure to vaccinate Americans against the coronavirus is hitting a roadblock: a number of states report that they no longer have a vaccine, and tens of thousands of people who managed to get appointments for a first dose see that they be canceled.
The full explanation for the apparent supply-demand mismatch was unclear, but last week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggested that states have unrealistic expectations about how much vaccine was on the way.
The shortages come as states dramatically increase their vaccinations, led by the federal government, to reach people 65 and older, along with other groups deemed essential or at high risk. More than 400,000 deaths in the US are blamed for the virus.
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First-grade teacher Karen Stachowiak spent nearly five hours on New York State’s hotline and website scheduling an appointment for Wednesday, only to cancel it. The Buffalo resident and her parents were among thousands of people who canceled in Erie province due to supply issues.
“It was stressful because I was so close. And my other friends who are teachers were able to book appointments for last Saturday,” Stachowiak said. “So many people get theirs in and then it’s like, ‘No, I have to wait.’
About half of the 31 million doses distributed by the federal government to the states have been administered so far, although only about 2 million people have received the two doses needed for maximum protection against COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. .
Countries across Europe are also struggling to get enough doses to protect against a virus that is now present in new, more contagious variants around the world.
Pfizer said last week it would temporarily reduce the delivery of the vaccine to Europe and Canada, while improving capacity at its plant in Belgium, which delivers all shots delivered outside the United States. In the US, Pfizer has a plant in Michigan.
In the US, some states have suggested that they will not receive the vaccine by Thursday, and it is unclear when new doses will come.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that the city has to cancel 23,000 appointments for people waiting for their first dose this week due to insufficient supplies. The mayor, who has been sounding the alarm about vaccine shortages for days, says the situation is exacerbated by the delivery of Moderna vaccine to the city this week.
“So we felt all the tension of a vaccine shortage,” he said. “Now the situation is even worse. We have to think differently at this moment.”
The city health commissioner, dr. Dave Chokshi, said the 103,400 Modern doses scheduled for delivery on Tuesday – 54,200 first doses and 49,200 second doses – are now expected on Wednesday and Thursday.
Referring to a nationwide vaccine shortage, New York police have suspended the first shot of vaccinations for its officers.
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In Florida, local media reported a similar problem in the Miami area, where the Baptist Health system canceled appointments scheduled for the first doses.
“I could have blown the top off my head with steam,” 76-year-old Charlotte Reeve told The Miami Herald. ‘I’m also a fairly recent widow. Having to sit locked up in my house alone is just devastating to me … I feel like I just got cut to my knees again. ‘
The San Francisco Department of Health said it was unlikely to receive a vaccine on Thursday, in part because the state withdrew a series of Moderna shots after several health workers had a bad reaction. The health department received 12,000 doses last week, but less than 2,000 this week.
West Virginia, which manages one of the fastest vaccinations in the country, in part through pharmacies in small towns, said it received no expected increase in doses this week. With 99.6% of the first doses already administered, officials want to send the government more.
“Here we are with no vaccines,” Republican Gov. Jim Justice said, fearing other states would have doses that were unused. “We all have in people’s arms and we did exactly what we had to do. … I think performance should be rewarded.”
He said the state has not yet received a promised 25,000 additional doses this week, above the usual allocation of about 23,000.
Hawaii leaders have complained that the state received 59,000 doses last week, but they expect only about 32,000 doses this week alone.
In New York State, Barbara Carr, a 72-year-old retiree in Buffalo, was upset when her vaccination appointment for Thursday was canceled. But she was soon able to get another appointment at a local pharmacy and received her first dose on Tuesday.
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Now she is worried about her two children, who are teachers. Their appointments have been canceled.
“They had no luck with scheduling, no phone calls, and also no communication other than ‘You were canceled,'” Carr said. “The poor teachers. … I can stay home so I can hide from the virus. They can not. “