Lawmakers criticize ‘distortion’ in the distribution of COVID vaccine in Alabama – ‘Our citizens are paying a fatal price’
The launch of the COVID-19 vaccine in Alabama has met with a lot of criticism, mainly given the country’s ranking of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a hotline created by the Alabama Department of Public Health ( ADPH) for vaccination appointments, which has been overwhelmed at times.
State health officer Dr. Scott Harris contested the CDC’s findings, arguing that he had not considered updated state data that would have made Alabama intermediate. He told APTV’s Capitol Journal that the solution to all the problems that plague the state would be for more of the vaccine to be available.
Some Alabama state senators have noted the shortcomings and are asking ADPH officials to control the data and report to the CDC, which will help the state avoid distribution problems in the future. In a joint letter, State Sens. Jim McClendon (R-Springville), Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), Tom Whatley (R-Auburn) and Randy Price (R-Opelika) warned that the citizens of Alabama were paying a “deadly price” because of the state’s struggles. Alabama.
“We always knew that distributing the Covid vaccine stock would be difficult, especially in the beginning,” said the senators. “Although the supply pipeline is definitely a problem, our pipeline in Alabama has a twist. The distribution of vaccines to Alabama will continue to be interrupted until Alabama complies with the rules. The rule is simple: the CDC will not authorize shipments to Alabama until they know that we are using what we have at hand. Our citizens are paying a fatal price. “
Lawmakers said that ADPH had to follow the rules set by the CDC and said that the following questions were not sufficiently answered by ADPH:
1. How many doses do we receive in Alabama?
2. How many doses were distributed to locations across the state?
3. How many doses were placed on the weapons?
4. How many armed doses have been reported to the CDC?
“If the Alabama Department of Public Health doesn’t know the answer [to] these issues, so the CDC certainly doesn’t know, and it makes no sense to send additional doses to Alabama, ”added the letter.
The statement made suggestions for resolving these problems.
Sens. McClendon, Albritton, Whatley and the complete Price letter below:
McClendon is chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Albritton is chairman of the Senate Finance and General Taxation Committee and Whatley is chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The Alabama Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Yellowhammer News.
UPDATE 16:30
ADPH provided a written statement in response to the senators’ letter.
The department said it wanted to “correct any misunderstandings about the distribution process for the COVID-19 vaccine.”
ADPH statement as follows:
The department is in regular communication with our elected officials in Alabama and has described the process of our weekly distribution of vaccines per capita in detail. The number of doses of COVID-19 vaccine allocated to Alabama is based on our population and is not determined by the amount of vaccine available in the state. The number of doses remaining from previous allocations does not affect the number of doses that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorizes for Alabama.
ADPH is in ongoing talks with the CDC to provide our numbers in Alabama.
Although the department works with the CDC to resolve data problems that were found due to a response of this size, it does not in any way affect the number of doses Alabama receives.
The data to answer each of the questions asked in the letter is publicly available on the ADPH COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Panel, which can be accessed on the ADPH website (arcg.is/OrCey) and was updated on January 19, 2021 CDC data is available on the vaccine data tracker website (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data- tracker / # vaccinations), although the CDC has not updated Alabama information since January 15, 2021.
Suppliers are federally required to report within 24 hours after the vaccine is administered. ADPH uses the Integrated Technology Immunization Patient Registry (ImmPRINT) system to collect this information. The team works with the providers if assistance is needed.
The biggest obstacle to vaccination in Alabama is the limited supply of vaccine. Alabama currently has approximately 676,000 people in Alabama who are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but as our state receives only about 50,000 – 60,000 primary doses per week, the supply is currently unavailable to reach those numbers.
ADPH receives thousands of calls, emails and messages on social media every day from people who offer suggestions to help speed up the vaccination process. We appreciate any recommendations and want the public to be sure that ADPH has a huge team of doctors, nurses, public health experts and other medical professionals who continue to work tirelessly to launch the vaccine in Alabama. A vaccination plan of this size is unprecedented, and ADPH thanks everyone for their patience as we work to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
@Jeff_Poor graduated from Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, editor of Breitbart TV, columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9am to 12pm on FM Talk 106.5.