In the midst of a complex and difficult mass immunization effort across the country, the focus shifted to a clear disconnect between a militant-style vaccine distribution cadence and the efforts of some low-income states struggling to administer these doses.
After reports that the U.S. is likely to fall short of its goal of administering 20 million vaccines in Americans’ arms by the end of 2020, Fox News learned that the Federal Department of Human and Health Services is reacting, with Michael Pratt, director of communications for Operation Warp Speed at HHS, saying the government has dispatched more than 14 million doses to date and cannot control when states actually administer the vaccine.
Nearly 2.8 million people in the United States received the first vaccine on a two-dose regimen, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although officials have said there are delays in reporting these data. The CDC website also lists more than 12.4 million doses distributed.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Thursday that he expects states to start “gaining momentum” with vaccine administration.
“We hoped that by the end of December 31, we would have 20 million doses in the arms of individuals and, obviously, by the numbers … that is not the case. What we hope is that they are now gaining momentum as we recover from it “Said Fauci.
“Whenever you have a very big operation, like trying to vaccinate an entire country with a new vaccine, there will always be bumps along the way and hiccups because of that.”
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Fauci said that many states and local authorities lack the resources to establish vaccination programs with the right efficiency. As states “gain momentum,” Fauci expects the United States to reach the goal with vaccinations in mid-January, February and March.
But attributing to the overburdened health systems the administration of vaccines (some of which have strict requirements for under-frozen storage), aggravated by scarce resources such as personnel and funding, may explain the clear disconnect between deployment and distribution.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appeared on “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday to discuss another problem stemming from a communication failure that arose two weeks ago, when states were told to expect far fewer doses than originally planned .
“The federal government did not deliver the number it was originally telling states that they would get … there was not much support, no financial support and no real plan,” said Hogan.
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While President Trump approved the new $ 2.3 trillion government spending and pandemic relief package on Sunday, some say the allocation of funds eventually trickling down to counties will come very little, too late.
Fox News Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.