Now that almost half of the United States’ population could be eligible for coronavirus vaccines, the United States faces the problem that experts thought we would have all along: demand for the vaccine is outpacing supply.
Why it matters: The Trump administration’s call for states to open access to the vaccine for all Americans 65 and older and adults with pre-existing illnesses may have helped to eliminate some bottlenecks in the distribution process, but it also led to a different kind of chaos.
The big picture: The United States still administered only about 14.7 million injections, by Bloomberg, well below the 20 million doses expected by the end of December. Almost half of the doses distributed were given.
- Vaccine suppliers were adhering very strictly to the prioritization guidelines, experts said, prompting the government to issue its new guidelines.
- But the process has also struggled with the complicated logistics of a massive vaccine distribution program, and making more people eligible for vaccines does not solve problems like a lack of vaccinators.
What is happening: We know all the time that vaccines could only be manufactured, distributed and administered at a limited pace. We are now seeing these limitations run out in real time.
- Americans eligible for the vaccine are unable to obtain consultations, as all available vacancies are filled almost immediately after opening.
- In some places, where vaccines are given on a first-come, first-served basis, they are camped in line for hours – or even overnight – trying to get an injection.
- New York website said last week that all vaccine appointments are scheduled for the next 14 weeks. Although 7 million New Yorkers are eligible, the state is receiving only 300,000 doses of vaccine per week from the federal government.
The change in federal orientation it was announced along with the Trump administration’s decision to stop retaining second doses of the vaccine and instead distribute all available vaccines to states.
- But the government had already started to do so, the Washington Post reported, meaning that there is no additional reserve of vaccine doses to send.
The end result: Vaccine supply would always be our biggest problem in the coming months. What we underestimated were the logistical challenges that have arisen in recent weeks.