Devastating winter storms that sweep across the United States have injected confusion and frustration into the country’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign, delaying deliveries and forcing the cancellation of thousands of vaccines across the country.
In a large area of the United States, including deep south states like Georgia and Alabama, snowy and slippery weather has led to the closure of vaccination sites or delayed necessary shipments, with delays expected to continue for days.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday that states would face serious delays in receiving doses, with dangerous road conditions and power outages hampering delivery. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the doses expected this week were delayed by the weather in other parts of the country, forcing the city to postpone 30,000 to 35,000 vaccination appointments.
A public health expert said the delays were unacceptable.
“The fact that vaccination centers take snowy days will only help things more than they already are,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Safety. “The virus doesn’t take snowy days.”
Jo Dohogne, from Bartlett, Tennessee, said he had scheduled two appointments this week to receive his second dose of the Modern vaccine, but both were canceled because of bad weather.
Dohogne, 75, who has multiple sclerosis, said she felt abandoned when the six-week mark for her second dose approached after her first vaccination on January 14.
“I’m just stressed out; it’s like it’s been taking up my whole life, ”said Dohogne.
Covid-19 White House coordinator Jeff Zients said that in places where vaccination sites have been closed, such as Texas, the government is encouraging locals to increase their hours after they open.
“We want to make sure that, as we lose some time in some states for people to pick up needles from guns, our partners do everything they can to recover the lost ground,” he said.
In southern Nevada, authorities reported that winter storms delayed the shipment of Modern vaccines scheduled to be administered as a second dose this week.
It is worrying that delays occur at a time when efforts to immunize more people are increasing. The United States is vaccinating an average of 1.7 million Americans a day against Covid-19, up from less than 1 million a month ago. New figures from the White House show a steady increase in the pace of vaccinations during Joe Biden’s first month in office.
Biden is on track to exceed his goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office, but the pace is expected to increase even more to fulfill his plans to vaccinate almost all adults by the end of the summer.
In the face of frustrating delays, some people showed remarkable persistence. Fran Goldman, 90, of Seattle, told the Seattle Times that she walked 6 miles back and forth in the snow to get her vaccine.
Goldman said that after much effort, she finally secured a spot for Sunday morning, but on Friday and Saturday a strong storm passed, filling the streets with snowdrifts.
Goldman put on wool pants and put some warm layers over a short-sleeved shirt so that the nurse could reach his arm easily.
“It was not easy. It was a challenge, ”she said. She arrived at the appointment only five minutes late.