Hopes for an increase in Covid-19 vaccine shipments under a new policy to release second doses held in reserve appear to be evaporating – with the revelation that those doses have already been distributed.
A senior Trump administration official told CNN on Friday that when the government announced it would be releasing reserved doses last week, many of these reserves had already been released into the system as of last year, while production was increasing.
The revelation appears to contradict what the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services announced on January 12 at a briefing for Operation Warp Speed, where he said the government would be “releasing all supplies for orders by the states, rather than keeping a second dose in reserve “.
The official who spoke to CNN rejected a report that the second dose supply was “depleted”, characterizing the reserve as a rolling supply and replenished with new production.
The source emphasized that the supply would still benefit from the extra doses already in circulation – but acknowledged that this means that there will not be a sudden increase in the number of distribution, as many have been led to believe.
Michael J. Pratt, chief of communications for Operation Warp Speed, also denied the notion that the reserve was “exhausted” in a statement to CNN.
“This week, nearly 13 million total doses were supplied to the states to order, millions more than in other weeks, as the second dose reserve is fully available for order, said Pratt. “States have not yet fully ordered against their order limits. As stated this week, we are now moving to the stage where the full amount released for OWS is being made available for order, first to cover second doses, second to provide additional first doses. ”
The news shocked and angered officials in at least one state.
“I am demanding responses from the Trump administration. I am shocked and shocked that they have set an expectation that they could not live up to, with such serious consequences, ”Oregon Governor Kate Brown tweeted on Friday. “This is a nationwide mistake. Oregon’s elders, the teachers, all of us, depended on the promise that part of the federal vaccine reserve in Oregon would be released to us. “
Oregon’s health director wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar on Thursday, demanding that he reconcile his statement last week about “releasing all supplies” with this revelation.
CNN obtained a letter written by Oregon health director Patrick Allen in which he reported a connection to Brown and Operation Warp Speed operations chief Gen. Gustave Perna on Thursday.
“During this call, he informed us that there is no dose reservation and we are already receiving the full distribution of the vaccines,” wrote Allen. “If true, this is extremely disturbing and puts our plans to expand eligibility at serious risk. These plans were made based on your statement about ‘release all supplies’ that you have in reserve. If this information is accurate, don’t we will be able to start vaccinating our vulnerable elderly people on January 23, as planned. “
CNN also contacted vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna, as well as Moderna’s distribution partner, McKesson, and received no response.
The revelation that second doses were not strictly guarded was first reported by The Washington Post, which also reported that the Trump administration changed its strategy to start using second doses last year.
“We are hearing that there is no stock of vaccine for the second dose, but that it was more of a ‘paper exercise’,” said Dr. Marcus Plescia, medical director of the Association of Territorial and State Health Officials. “The stock seems to be all on paper, they were tracking the anticipated need, but they weren’t really holding on to the product.”
The end result, said Plescia, is that the vaccine will remain frightening for at least a few more weeks.
“I think the original message was lost in many exaggerated promises,” said Plescia. “Until there is a more robust supply, we need to make it clear to the public that the opportunity to obtain the vaccine is limited.”
Jacqueline Howard, Nadia Kounang and John Bonifield of CNN contributed to this report.