The US coronavirus vaccine rollout has been slow, and some states eager to move more doses are beginning to vaccinate more than the health care workers and nursing home residents initially at the front of the line.
Just 5.3 million of the 17.3 million doses distributed have been administered in the United States – only 30.7%. That doesn’t come to close to the target the Trump administration set in the fall to administer 20 million vaccines to Americans by the end of 2020. So, many states are taking steps to speed things up.
In Montana on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Gianforte shifted some Covid-19 vaccination policies “effective immediately” to include people 70 and older and those 16 to 69 with specific conditions.
“We cannot have vaccines sitting on the shelf,” he said.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has warned hospitals that if they aren’t distributing the vaccine quickly enough, they may lose additional allotments. The state has expanded vaccinations to seniors over the age of 65, and demand has been so high that some seniors camped out overnight to get one. One location in Daytona Beach reached capacity two hours before the doors even opened.
On Monday, Trump officials told CNN that they will continue to allow states to make decisions about vaccine campaigns. They encouraged states to expand vaccine availability to pharmacies and allow more people to get their shots. US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams on Tuesday urged states to quickly move on to additional priority groups.
“States all across the country feel beholden to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices guidelines to vaccinate everyone in group 1a before they move to 1b and beyond and what I want people to know is these are guidelines,” Adams said.
In those guidelines from the CDC vaccine advisory committee, health care workers and residents in long-term care facilities are the top priority to receive vaccines – Phase 1a. Next, Phase 1b includes people 75 years and older and frontline essential workers who do not work in the health care sector such as firefighters, corrections officers and utility and transportation workers. The next phase, 1c, includes people 65 to 74, people ages 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions and other essential workers.
“If the demand isn’t there in one location, move those vaccines to another location,” Adams said Tuesday on NBC’s Today show.
US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Wednesday that he has been encouraging governors to move ahead and use “every bit” of the vaccine.
“If for some reason their distribution is struggling, and they’re having vaccines sit in freezers, then by all means, you ought to be opening up to people 70 and over, 65 and over, you ought to be making sure that