States soon to get $3 billion infusion for vaccines

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — State and local governments are expected to receive their first infusion of federal money to support vaccination efforts against the coronavirus this month, providing a potential boost to an effort that has gone slower than expected in some states.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said $3 billion for vaccine efforts should go out to states by Jan. 19, along with $19 billion of additional aid for coronavirus testing and contact tracing.

“It’s really coming late in the game, but we’re really happy to have that,” said Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers.

It will be up to states to decide exactly how to use the money. But the greatest need is for more staffing, followed by improved technology for data systems, Hannan said.

Some state health agencies “do not have the staffing they need to even enter vaccine orders, to complete enrolling providers, to walk providers through their plan and everything they need to be doing,” she said. “And then the local health departments don’t have the staffing to hold clinics, to organize clinics, to do all the communication.”

More than 21 million doses of vaccines had been distributed as of Thursday, but only about 6 million people had received their first dose of the two-dose shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The vaccine money is being distributed among states through a formula that also allots portions to certain large cities and U.S. territories. The allotments range from $5 million for Wyoming, which has fewer than 600,000 residents, to $357 million for California, which has a population of nearly 40 million.