The Trump administration is accelerating the launch of a program to offer coronavirus vaccines in retail pharmacies in an effort to accelerate the slow implementation of immunizations, officials said on Wednesday.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters that the original plan was to extend the program over time.
But the government was attacked recently because of the slow and sloppy launch of vaccines in Operation Warp Speed. The authorities set a goal to vaccinate 20 million people by the end of December, but they fell short.
As of Wednesday, about 5.3 million people have received their first dose of the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“This partnership allows states to distribute vaccines directly to these partners, and these partners can then administer vaccines to specific groups, such as those over a certain age or in certain occupations, and eventually to the general public,” said Azar.
The program was announced earlier this fall, but no timetable has been given for when it could start. According to Azar, it will eventually cover more than 40,000 pharmacy locations from 19 chains and associations across the country.
The idea is that it will be more convenient and efficient for someone to try it at the local pharmacy than at a hospital.
Azar said tens of thousands of pharmacies have already signed up for the program, although only a few thousand start vaccinating people initially because of supply restrictions.
Federal officials in recent days have acknowledged frustration with the slow implementation of vaccines and are encouraging states to take steps to speed up the process.
Bad luck on Wednesday urged states not to get bogged down in priority group silos and said it is better to take vaccines to arms quickly, even if all health professionals have not yet been vaccinated.
“At the moment, there is no reason why states need to complete, say, vaccinate all health care providers, before opening vaccination to older Americans or others, especially vulnerable populations,” said Azar.
“It would be much better to act quickly and end up vaccinating some lower priority people than leaving vaccines stopped while states try to micromanage this process. Faster administration can save lives now, which means we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good, “said Azar.
In the absence of a federal vaccination plan, states have made their own policies, sometimes changing them quickly. The CDC has provided states with an outline that recommends prioritizing health workers and nursing homes first, but states have the ability to distribute the vaccine as they see fit.
Azar called for flexibility around the priority phases, “instead of proposing heavy penalties for administering the vaccine is the best way to get more shots at the guns faster.”
His reference to penalties was a veiled shot at the New York governor. Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo Governors respond to violence in the Capitol Trump administration by accelerating the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination in pharmacies Cuomo’s dangerous law is based on fiction MORE (D), which threatened to fine and revoke the licenses of providers that vaccinate people outside the current priority groups.