Amid criticism by state legislators over the slow distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in Alabama, the state announced on Wednesday that it would begin “removing” doses of unused vaccines from clinics or pharmacies that are not distributing them quickly enough and send limited vaccine supplies elsewhere.
The Alabama Department of Public Health issued a press release on Wednesday afternoon to resolve “misunderstandings” about vaccination efforts in the state and announce that the new policy of “removing” unused doses of vaccines from hospitals, pharmacies or other suppliers and send them to locations that can use it faster.
“In response to concerns that some providers are failing to administer their vaccine quotas in a timely manner, ADPH will begin removing vaccine supplies from providers that are not administering the vaccine in a timely manner,” said the department. “The unused vaccine will be redirected to other providers that will administer the vaccine more quickly.
“ADPH is researching all providers in the state to ensure that all doses administered have been properly reported to ADPH and to determine if there is a vaccine available that needs to be redistributed elsewhere.”
Alabama consistently ended at or near the bottom of the vaccine distribution statistics maintained by the US Centers for Disease Control, still last among the states in the percentage of the population that was vaccinated by January 20. instead of the federal panel, and ADPH said it is in ongoing communication with the CDC to ensure that all doses administered in Alabama are counted.
But the state is under pressure to distribute the vaccine more quickly. In the final days of the Trump administration, the CDC announced a policy to reward states that distribute the vaccine quickly with larger allocations in the future.
On Tuesday, four Alabama lawmakers distributed a letter to the media saying that the slow implementation of ADPH and record-keeping problems could cost the state to obtain additional doses in the future. ADPH replied that the government currently allocates vaccine doses based on population.
The CDC policy announced last week under the Trump administration has not yet come into effect and it is unclear whether it will ever do so under the Biden government.
In Wednesday’s press release, ADPH said it had redirected its employees from their regular duties to help county health departments administer the vaccine.
“Every person who receives an injection of COVID-19 deserves one and will receive it, as we are determined to ensure that no vaccines are left unused on the shelf,” said Alabama health officer Dr. Scott Harris. “We are making every effort to get gunshots as soon as possible.”
ADPH says the state has received 446,150 doses of the vaccine from the federal government so far and administered 184,618. Alabama received a total of 640,150 doses, but not all were delivered. ADPH says that no dose of the vaccine has been ruled out in Alabama so far, and ADPH now offers a map of suppliers offering the vaccine on its website.
The state has more than 346,000 people in Phase 1a of its vaccine allocation plan and another 348,000 residents aged 75 and over who are currently eligible to receive the vaccine.
The state has yet to launch a promised online registration for people to apply to join the list to receive the vaccine. There is a direct vaccine hotline across the state, but it has been inundated with calls and is often difficult to get. Still, Harris says supply is the biggest limiting factor in the state.
“The biggest obstacle to vaccination is still limited vaccine supply,” said Harris. “We are trying to manage expectations, because the deadline for receiving the vaccine has not changed and we cannot give people a resource that we do not yet have.”
Dr. Don Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association, told AL.com on Wednesday that, while it is clear that there were some data reporting problems with the federal database, the biggest problem is a lack of supplies. .
“We have several hospitals, where the problem is not that they have a vaccine and cannot give it,” said Williamson. “It’s just that they have no vaccine.”
* AL.com reporter Sarah Whites-Koditschek contributed to this report.