HOUSTON (AP) – A giant vaccination center opens in Houston to administer 126,000 doses of coronavirus over the next three weeks. Nevada health officials work overtime to disperse delayed shots. And Rhode Island plans to resume appointments after a vaccine shipment would not arrive earlier in the week.
From coast to coast, states scrambled Tuesday to catch up on vaccinations a week after winter storms plagued much of the U.S., closing clinics, canceling appointments and sending the country backward.
But the limited supply of the two approved COVID-19 vaccines hampered the rate of vaccinations, even before the extreme delayed about 6 million doses.
The White House promised on Tuesday that help was on the way.
States can expect about 14.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccine this week, an increase of nearly 70% in distribution over the past month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. And White House Coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients told governors on Tuesday that the number of doses sent directly to pharmacies would increase by about 100,000 this week, Psaki said.
The increased efforts come when the COVID-19 death toll in the US exceeded 500,000, more than any other country.
More than 44 million Americans have received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, and about 1.4 million a day have received a first or second dose in the past seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Although the average daily deaths and cases have dropped, some experts believe that not enough Americans have been vaccinated to give the vaccine the reason. The decrease is rather attributed to the passing of the holidays, more people staying indoors during the winter and a better adherence to mask rules and social distance.
In addition, they warn that dangerous variants can reverse the trend. States respond by simultaneously trying to catch up with last week’s break and get ready to vaccinate more people in the coming weeks.
Houston’s federally funded vaccination site will open in NRG Park on Wednesday and work seven days a week for three weeks to distribute 126,000 first doses, before moving on to second doses, officials said.
Texans recover from a devastating winter storm that killed at least 35 people, left millions without power and water and delayed vaccinations.
“It was trauma after trauma, and people deserve good news and hope,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county’s chief elected official.
In Buda, Texas, retired teachers Donna and Gerald Haschke, both 74, had to receive their second doses last week, but their appointments were canceled three times due to the storm. They will receive doses on Thursday.
The couple is eager to be completely vaccinated after having to scale down all their activities due to the coronavirus months. Gerald Haschke has heart tents and Donna Haschke has atrial fibrillation, she said.
“My cardiologists said, ‘You do not want to get COVID,'” Donna Haschke said. “I said, ‘No, I do not.’ “For me it was a warning that I should stay home. ‘
In Mississippi, where COVID-19 vaccinations fell last week amid icy temperatures and icy roads, health officials automatically scheduled the appointments and planned to plan more than normal during the weekend.
The health department said Monday that only 32,540 vaccinations were given in the state last week, up from 106,691 the previous week.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said Monday that 46,000 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine delayed by the weather have begun arriving in the state. The head of the state bureau for child, family and community wellness said officials will work overtime to administer the doses, along with the regular delivery this week.
President Joe Biden has said that every American who wants a vaccine will be able to get it by the end of July.
But demand remains better than the limited supply distributed by the US government.
Managers of five companies with contracts to supply the United States – Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Novavax – testified before Congress’s Energy and Trade Committee on supply issues.
With a view to the summer, Pfizer and Moderna executives have said they expect to complete 300 million doses each, and J&J aims to provide 100 million extra doses – more than enough to vaccinate every American adult.
Arizona will increase vaccinations by opening its fourth state-run mass vaccination clinic, health department officials said. In addition, transportation costs to and from the vaccine will now be covered for people enrolled in the Arizona Medicaid program, Doug Ducey said.
“This change will make it easier for our most vulnerable Arizonans … to be vaccinated,” Ducey said.
Gavin Newsom, governor of California, said 11 mobile clinics in the sprawling Central Valley of California will open an agricultural area hard hit by the coronavirus. It will be used primarily to vaccinate farm workers who have not been transported to larger vaccination sites or are unable to navigate the state’s online sign-up portal.
Newsom said the state is also sending 34,000 extra doses of vaccine to the area of a pharmacy that did not use it fast enough.
Meanwhile, Tenessee’s top health official said Tuesday that more than 2,400 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been lost in Shelby County, which includes Memphis, in the past month, while local officials were sitting on tens of thousands of shots that they said were already gone. in arms.
Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said an investigation into the Department of Health this past weekend found problems dating back to February 3 that contained spoiled doses, an excessive vaccine supply, inadequate record keeping and no formal process to get vaccines expiring soon. , to manage. A federal investigation is also expected.
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Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan. Associated Press Writer Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Kansas; Kimberlee Cruises in Nashville, Tennessee; Mark Pratt in Providence, Rhode Island; Michelle Monroe in Sacramento, California; Michelle Price in Las Vegas; and Terry Tang in Phoenix contributed to this report.