Vaccine reserve was exhausted when Trump administration vowed to release it, dashing hopes of expand

[Wicked Blue]

Washington Post
By Isaac Stanley-Becker and Lena H. Sun

When Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced this week that the federal government would begin releasing coronavirus vaccine doses that had been held in reserve for second shots, no such reserve existed, according to state and federal officials briefed on distribution plans. The Trump administration had already begun shipping out what was available, starting at the end of December, taking second doses for the two-dose regimen directly off the manufacturing line.

Now, health officials across the country who had anticipated their extremely limited vaccine supply as much as doubling beginning next week are confronting the reality that their allocations will remain largely flat, dashing hopes of dramatically expanding access for millions of elderly people and those with high-risk medical conditions. Health officials in some cities and states were informed in recent days about the reality of the situation, while others were still in the dark Friday.

Because both of the vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States are two-dose regimens, the Trump administration’s initial policy was to hold back second doses to protect against manufacturing disruptions. But that approach shifted in recent weeks, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

***

Those in line for their second shots are still expected to get them on schedule because second doses are prioritized over first shots and states are still receiving regular vaccine shipments. But state and local officials say they are angry and bewildered by the shifting directions and changing explanations about supply. Their anxiety was deepened by projections that a highly contagious virus variant would spread rapidly throughout the United States and as daily covid-19 deaths averaged 3,320 this week.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01/15/trump-vaccine-reserve-used-up/

[Hortensis]

1. Not all who voted for Trump are crazy, many always wanted vaccination,

so I'm hoping this will hurt him with them in a way that his other actions did not. This isn't the first or 20th time he's betrayed and hurt his own voters, but this is right now and easy to see.

[thecrow]

2. This is the orange's way to shit all over Biden's first 100 days plans.

It is despicable and immoral.