Results – not promises – needed
Virginians want Gov. Northam’s administration to do a better job amid nationwide vaccine rollout mess
There is no shortage of disappointment in the haphazard distribution of the coronavirus vaccine so far, and that’s especially true in Virginia. One month since celebrating area health care workers receiving their first shots, the commonwealth lags near the bottom of states in the number of vaccine doses distributed and the percentage of its vaccine supply used thus far.
There is plenty of blame to go around, and Gov. Ralph Northam knows much of it lands on his shoulders. The administration must do a better job, in a number of areas, and its success will be measured by results, not promises.
The vaccine rollout has been a nationwide mess, with plenty of states struggling to distribute their supplies of the coveted medication.
Though the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed helped companies develop viable vaccines and ensure their rapid production, it did not have a comprehensive plan for distribution. Like so many things in this pandemic, the White House left it to the states to figure out.
The states, in turn, have been hamstrung by not having federal assistance and, worse, surprised by unmet promises of supply. Twice the Trump administration pledged to provide the states with more vaccine than it could deliver, admitting this month that it didn’t have nearly the number of doses it claimed.
That’s a huge problem, and the Biden administration intends to tackle it quickly. On Thursday, he issued a comprehensive pandemic response plan and 10 executive orders that included a vaccine distribution strategy. The president intends to hire personnel to administer shots and use the Defense Production Act to bolster supply.
But while federal action surely would have helped to manage the largest vaccination effort in American history, it doesn’t let states off the hook for an inability to get available doses into arms.
In Virginia, as elsewhere, that continues to be a source of intense public frustration and justified anger.
The commonwealth has so far received nearly 1 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and, according to the state Department of Health, has administered about a third of those. That lands Virginia near the bottom of all states — certainly not where we should be.
On Jan. 6, Northam announced some changes to the state’s protocol for distribution. He tapped Dr. Danny Avula, director of the Richmond City and Henrico County Health Departments, to lead the vaccine efforts and said the Virginia National Guard would help provide logistical support.
Republican lawmakers hammered the Northam administration last week for its sluggishness, voicing the anxiousness and deep concern shared by the public over the rollout. They are correct that some of these decisions — appointing a point person to coordinate efforts, for instance — are overdue.
And Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer earlier this month sent a letter to the governor pleading for greater independence in administering the vaccine, citing the city’s success at reopening the beaches in late spring as an example of what local officials can accomplish.
So much of what Dyer, state lawmakers and many others have asked the governor for is eminently doable.
Better communication about distribution efforts and improved coordination between state and local agencies. More staffing and quicker approval for vaccine administrators. Authorization to operate a distribution site 24/7.
The governor, during his Jan. 6 press conference, set a goal of administering 25,000 doses per day, dependent on supply availability. According to the VDH dashboard, it has only exceeded that figure once, on Jan. 14, and is only now averaging about 20,000 doses per day.
That’s progress, but not yet enough to protect Virginians from a disease that’s claimed nearly 6,000 lives in the commonwealth, insulate the state against the new variations that are driving up infections nationwide, get our children back in schools, open our businesses and get our lives back to normal.
The governor knows this. Virginians have by and large done what was asked of them. They need the administration to deliver on its promises and do so quickly.