“We are emphasizing our districts for the vaccine to be transferred from the freezer to Oklahomans, preferably within a seven-day period,” said Keith Reed, vice commissioner for the Oklahoma department of health. “And this vaccine is really ready now.”
All states except West Virginia have adhered to a federal vaccination program in nursing homes that the Trump administration created to ensure the protection of a population particularly susceptible to coronavirus. Some states have complained about the pace of this program, although the giants of retail pharmacies that supply the vaccines – CVS and Walgreens – report on Monday that they have met their goal of ending the first round of vaccinations in nursing homes.
The states that revised their allocations said they are correcting the mismatch in supply, now that many states have approved vaccinations for people 65 and older and other high-risk groups. The new strategy also comes when the Biden government says it is working to unravel conflicting information about the country’s vaccine supply, as states warn that doses are running low while data show that many are still on the shelves.
Utah is halting new shipments to long-term care facilities this week and is instead redistributing 8,775 vaccines to local health departments and other providers, said health department spokesman Tom Hudachko.
“We are not seeing this as a result of CVS or Walgreens failing to meet their obligations,” said Hudachko. “In fact, just the opposite: they did a fantastic job in Utah, going through their first clinics. It is clear to us that the federal allocation was very high. “
Minnesota is withdrawing 30,000 doses from the long-term care program that, instead, will go to vaccinate teachers and childcare providers who are recently eligible, said a state spokesman. Maine transferred approximately 3,400 doses of CVS and Walgreens to independent hospitals and pharmacies. Michigan is sending 120,000 injections to other providers that were originally intended for long-term care facilities, according to health department spokesman Lynn Sutfin.
States emphasized that the review of allocations – which two state officials said must be approved by the federal government – will not impair the ability of pharmacies to vaccinate asylums and assisted communities. Spokesmen for CVS and Walgreens confirmed that in some cases pharmacies received more vaccine than they needed and are working with states to determine how best to recover or postpone these doses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are also helping states with relocation, a spokesman said.
“Now that pharmacies have made substantial progress in efforts to bring vaccination directly to the more than 70,000 long-term care units across the country – and we have a better understanding of how much stock is needed to end vaccination for these fragile and from the frontline service team to them – we’re working with pharmacies and jurisdictional partners to remove, or temporarily pause, these allocations when appropriate, ”said the agency’s spokesman.
LeadingAge, an association of non-profit aging service providers, has not heard of relocated doses being diverted from residents or employees already scheduled to receive vaccines. However, spokeswoman Lisa Sanders said the group will monitor how states change their plans.
“Our main concern is that the elderly and the people who care for them are prioritized because they have not gone through this whole pandemic,” said Sanders. “If the relocation means that they will not be prioritized, that would be worrying.”