US government seeks vaccination speedup
Says all over age 65 should get vaccine now
The U.S. government announced major changes to vaccine distribution Tuesday, upending what’s been standard operating procedure for the past four weeks in an attempt to speed COVID-19 vaccinations and move closer to widespread immunity against the coronavirus.
In a media briefing, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar asked states to expand vaccinations to people 65 and older, as well as others with conditions that put them at higher risk, provided they have medical documentation. He said restrictions by states on who is eligible to get the vaccine “have obstructed speed and accessibility of administration.”
“There was never a reason that states needed to complete vaccinating all health care providers before opening vaccinations to older Americans and other vulnerable populations,” Azar said. “States should not be waiting to complete 1a priorities before proceeding to broader categories of eligibility.”
Azar also announced the government will release all available vaccine to states instead of holding back doses for scheduled second shots. Federal officials had been keeping vaccine in reserve to guarantee second doses, but Azar said increased vaccine supply and the pace of manufacturing will ensure everyone who gets a first dose will get a second dose on schedule.
Both vaccines authorized for use were studied in a two-dose regimen, with the Pfizer-biontech doses given 21 days apart and Moderna’s 28 days apart.
“Based on the science and evidence we have it is imperative that people receive their second dose on time,” Azar said.
U.S. officials also are asking states to expand the locations where people can be vaccinated by adding community health centers, pharmacies and mass vaccination sites.
“Hospitals made sense as the early distribution sites when the focus was on health care workers, but they are not where most Americans go to get vaccines,” Azar said. “States should move on.”
He said the federal government will deploy teams to support states doing mass vaccinations. The government has partnered with 19 pharmacy chains and is ready to distribute vaccine to their locations, he added.
Criticizing some states for “heavyhanded micromanagement,” Azar announced a change in dose allocation.
Instead of allocating vaccines based on the number of adults in each state, the HHS secretary said states will receive vaccines based on how quickly shots are administered, and their number of people 65 and older.
So far, the vaccine rollout has been primarily to health care workers and nursing home residents. Of 27.6 million doses distributed, about 9.3 million had been administered as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.