The doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that were due to arrive in Colorado this week were postponed after a winter storm hit a distribution center in Tennessee, the state health department said on Tuesday.
It is not known when the shipments, which include 133,000 doses, will reach the state. The doses should initially arrive between Tuesday and Thursday.
“The state expects more information about when we will receive the vaccine when the weather improves and shipping operations are resumed,” the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in a statement.
The agency said it is working with vaccine suppliers and local public health departments to ensure vaccine consultations and clinics are not canceled this week.
Other states – from Texas to Ohio – are also experiencing delays in sending vaccines, as parts of the United States face snowstorms and sub-zero temperatures.
The weather interrupted shipments from a FedEx facility in Memphis and a UPS location in Louisville, Kentucky, which serve as distribution centers.
The state health department said that because of the recent holiday, it received the doses scheduled for this week on Friday.
“This decision helps us to have enough availability to work with providers to move doses and avoid cancellations,” said the agency.
So far, 704,052 people in Colorado have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 313,842 people have received their second injection.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.