More than a dozen states looking to deploy unused coronavirus
vaccines are starting to give shots to older members of the general
population while others have not, meaning protection for more than
20 million Americans aching to hug their grandchildren may depend on
where they live.
“We're glad to get it out. We just wished we’d had a little more
time to understand the scheduling and appointment process,” Rabalais
said.
States have received 21 million doses since the Food and Drug
Administration in December authorized two vaccines - from Pfizer Inc
with partner BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc - but only about 6 million
have been administered.
Healthcare workers and people in nursing homes have been at the
front of the line. But states left to distribute vaccines with
little federal funding or direction are now plotting their own
courses of action.
“It has created a situation where it’s confusing to the public,"
said Jen Kates, a senior vice president at Kaiser Family Foundation.
"Even within states, if you live in one county you may have a
different priority than if you live in another county."
Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Mississippi, Colorado, West
Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Michigan, Florida, Georgia,
Oklahoma, Indiana, Wyoming and Tennessee have either begun or will
allow the vulnerable older generation to get shots this week or next
in some or all counties.
In Texas, Florida and Georgia people over 65 are eligible for a
shot, while West Virginia and Indiana are limiting the vaccine to
those over 80.
Other states are holding off on moving into the next phase until
more healthcare workers and nursing home residents are vaccinated,
or have not yet announced a timeline for the general population.
The Trump administration has conceded that the biggest vaccination
campaign in history aimed at stopping the deadly pandemic is off to
a slower than hoped for start.
The government has advised states to expand eligibility and said it
would start pushing vaccines directly to pharmacies this week.
President-elect Joe Biden wants to release the doses being held back
for second shots into the supply, his spokesman said on Friday. Such
a move would require that manufacturing is consistent enough to
supply required second doses on schedule.
“I think the overarching goal of getting all eligible people
vaccinated has to take precedence,” said Amesh Adalja, senior
scholar at The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “We can’t
let an overly dogmatic adherence to priority groups to cause
inefficiencies in vaccine administration.”
Distributing doses at pharmacies could help speed the process, but
risks wasted doses, fraud, and confusion among the pubic, experts
said.
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Some states have internet
portals for vaccine sign-ups, which may be
challenging to access for those without
internet. Other states have no centralized
sign-up system at all, Kaiser's Kates said.
PHONES RINGING OFF THE HOOK
Rabalais said the phones have been ringing of the hook at her
pharmacy with its staff of three, and that the store has done little
besides organizing the vaccine rollout and navigating the state’s
vaccine registry.
Erin Zwiener, a Democratic representative in the Texas state
legislature, said the haphazard vaccine rollout echoes earlier
phases of the pandemic, when testing and personal protective gear
were scarce, and that ultimately the state’s poor will bear the
brunt.
“My big concern is because we are so intensely privatizing this
rollout and relying on pharmacies, we really are giving our
wealthier folks more access to this vaccine,” she said.
Florida's Seminole county has set up vaccination clinics and wants
to distribute in pharmacies next, but has not been told when it will
receive more doses or how many, said Alan Harris, an emergency
manager for the county.
Even though Texas broadened access, some hospitals and pharmacies
are still prioritizing healthcare workers. That has led to confusion
and frustration among the general public who thought doses were more
widely available.
At multiple Brookshire Brothers stores, a Texas and Louisiana
grocery and pharmacy chain, an automated message tells customers the
stores' vaccine waiting lists are full.
Wimberley Pharmacy, an independent store in Wimberley, Texas, said
they received thousands of calls from members of the general public
after the state posted locations with vaccine supply on a public
website to help Texans find shots nearby.
The store's first 100 doses went quickly to healthcare workers and
first responders. The next batch of doses they receive will be open
to the general public.
Said the store's manager Cody Gass: “We definitely don't have any
sitting around."
(Reporting by Rebecca Spalding, Tina Bellon and Carl O'Donnell;
Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)
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