Next COVID-19 vaccine shipment will be smaller than officials thought

After California successfully administered its first doses of the much- anticipated COVID-19 vaccine this week, state officials expected another 393,900 doses to arrive in the next shipment.

But on Thursday, the governor’s office said that number had been slashed by more than 40%, to 233,000.

“T he federal government delayed the number of Pfizer vaccines that California will receive in the next shipment — many states received new estimated shipment amounts,” a representative from Gov. Gav in Newsom’s of fice wrote in an emailed statement. “Based on this latest information, we’re expecting about 233,000 doses.”

California received its first allotment of 327,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week, and began inoculating healthcare workers.

The governor’s office provided no details on why the amount projected for next week would have changed, but several other states have reported similar shifts.

White House spokesman Michael Bars told the Sacramento Bee that no allocations had been cut.

The problem, a federal official told the Bee, is that a Defense Department system called Tiberius, which tracks and models the distribution of COVID vaccines, failed to update outdated numbers with the latest projections.

At least six other states, including Illinois, Florida and Maine, also reported la st- minute reductions in their expected vaccine shipments, according to The Washington Post.

Pfizer indicated no issues on its end.

“Pfizer is not having any production issues with our COVID-19 vaccine, and no shipments containing the vaccine are on hold or delayed,” a company representative wrote in a statement. “This week, we successfully shipped all 2.9 million doses that we were asked to ship by the U.S. Government to the locations specified by them. We have millions more doses sitting in our warehouse but, as of now, we have not received any shipment instructions for additional doses.”

The first vaccines in California were administered at a hospital in Los Angeles on Monday, to much fanfare. The state’s first doses have been reserved for frontline healthcare workers, with residents of nursing homes and other longterm care facilities next in line. Vaccines have been arriving in Bay Area counties throughout the week. On Thursday, 210 skilled nursing facilities workers gathered at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds for their shots.

Pfizer intends to deliver up to 50 million vaccines globally this year, and up to 1.3 billion next year. The vaccine requires two doses for maximum effectiveness.

Between the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine — which is expected to be approved shortly — California officials expect to receive about 2 million doses this month.