Coronavirus update: Vaccine delays cause frustration
Feb. 11, 2021
Supply is not keeping up with demand
Americans are being vaccinated against the coronavirus, but distribution problems are causing delays and frustration for those who are waiting to get a shot.
Vaccines created by the Pfizer and Moderna drug companies were developed in record time, but two months after the drug rollouts, only 10 percent of Americans-34.7 million- have received one dose. Only 3 percent, or 11.2 million people have received both shots needed to develop immunity to COVID-19.
Demand is outpacing supply, as local health officials try to inoculate the public while relying on a distribution system that is unstable at best.
The federal government has sent out 68.3 million doses to U.S. states and territories with many kept in reserve for second inoculations. But logistical problems and other factors have left medical authorities with rotating shortages that make planning difficult.
Last week, officials in Los Angeles County announced that they will be closing five of their vaccination sites including Dodger Stadium, one of the largest inoculation venues in the nation, according to the New York Times.
The city was to have run out of vaccine by Thursday forcing closure throughout the weekend. Some sites may reopen by Wednesday Feb 17, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“We’re vaccinating people faster than the new vials arrive here in Los Angeles,” Garcetti said. “I’m concerned as your mayor that our vaccine supply is uneven, it’s unpredictable and too often inequitable.”
In San Francisco, vaccinations were halted at two sites, Moscone Center and City College. The Oakland Coliseum was opened as a federal vaccination site Tuesday and officials are predicting that they can administer 6,000 shots daily for eight weeks. A similar site was opened at California State University, Los Angeles.
Under rules adopted by many states, initial vaccinations were reserved for people over the age of 75, medical personnel and “first responders” like police and firefighters.
Delays are caused when drug companies don’t have the necessary ingredients to make vaccine. Both the Pfizer and Moderna versions rely on genetic messenger RNA technology which has left producers scrambling for materials such as plasmids, nucleotides and enzymes.
“The vaccine is fairly new, the design in very cutting edge,” said Jennifer Pancorbo, of North Carolina State University’s Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center.
“All these components that are necessary to make the vaccine are not necessarily available at the scale that we need right now,” she said in an interview with Scientific American.
Vital equipment is also in short supply, said Glenn Richey of Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business.
“We’re seeing issues with the production of vials and syringes and those types of things that actually move the product from the storage container to the person,” he said.
The Biden administration said last week it had secured 200 million more doses of coronavirus vaccines, enough to inoculate every American adult, but President Biden warned that logistical hurdles would most likely mean that many Americans will still not have been vaccinated by the end of the summer.
Both vaccines are two-dose regimens, spaced three and four weeks apart. Biden lamented the “gigantic” logistical challenge he faces during an appearance at the National Institutes of Health. He also expressed open frustration with the previous administration.
“It’s one thing to have the vaccine,” Biden said. “It’s another thing to have vaccinators.”.”
Biden has promised to administer 100 million doses during the first 100 days of his presidency which ends on April 30.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief consultant on pandemic strategy, had predicted that vaccines would be available to the general public by April but said Tuesday his timeline has been moved back to late May or early June.
Supply is not keeping up with demand
Americans are being vaccinated against the coronavirus, but distribution problems are causing delays and frustration for those who are waiting to get a shot.
Vaccines created by the Pfizer and Moderna drug companies were developed in record time, but two months after the drug rollouts, only 10 percent of Americans-34.7 million- have received one dose. Only 3 percent, or 11.2 million people have received both shots needed to develop immunity to COVID-19.
Demand is outpacing supply, as local health officials try to inoculate the public while relying on a distribution system that is unstable at best.
The federal government has sent out 68.3 million doses to U.S. states and territories with many kept in reserve for second inoculations. But logistical problems and other factors have left medical authorities with rotating shortages that make planning difficult.
Last week, officials in Los Angeles County announced that they will be closing five of their vaccination sites including Dodger Stadium, one of the largest inoculation venues in the nation, according to the New York Times.
The city was to have run out of vaccine by Thursday forcing closure throughout the weekend. Some sites may reopen by Wednesday Feb 17, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“We’re vaccinating people faster than the new vials arrive here in Los Angeles,” Garcetti said. “I’m concerned as your mayor that our vaccine supply is uneven, it’s unpredictable and too often inequitable.”
In San Francisco, vaccinations were halted at two sites, Moscone Center and City College. The Oakland Coliseum was opened as a federal vaccination site Tuesday and officials are predicting that they can administer 6,000 shots daily for eight weeks. A similar site was opened at California State University, Los Angeles.
Under rules adopted by many states, initial vaccinations were reserved for people over the age of 75, medical personnel and “first responders” like police and firefighters.
Delays are caused when drug companies don’t have the necessary ingredients to make vaccine. Both the Pfizer and Moderna versions rely on genetic messenger RNA technology which has left producers scrambling for materials such as plasmids, nucleotides and enzymes.
“The vaccine is fairly new, the design in very cutting edge,” said Jennifer Pancorbo, of North Carolina State University’s Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center.
“All these components that are necessary to make the vaccine are not necessarily available at the scale that we need right now,” she said in an interview with Scientific American.
Vital equipment is also in short supply, said Glenn Richey of Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business.
“We’re seeing issues with the production of vials and syringes and those types of things that actually move the product from the storage container to the person,” he said.
The Biden administration said last week it had secured 200 million more doses of coronavirus vaccines, enough to inoculate every American adult, but President Biden warned that logistical hurdles would most likely mean that many Americans will still not have been vaccinated by the end of the summer.
Both vaccines are two-dose regimens, spaced three and four weeks apart. Biden lamented the “gigantic” logistical challenge he faces during an appearance at the National Institutes of Health. He also expressed open frustration with the previous administration.
“It’s one thing to have the vaccine,” Biden said. “It’s another thing to have vaccinators.”.”
Biden has promised to administer 100 million doses during the first 100 days of his presidency which ends on April 30.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief consultant on pandemic strategy, had predicted that vaccines would be available to the general public by April but said Tuesday his timeline has been moved back to late May or early June.
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LATEST CORONAVIRUS STATISTICS 2/11/2021
GLOBAL
CASES: 109,463,210
DEATHS: 2,416,661
United States
CASES: 27,746,876
DEATHS: 487,710
FIVE HARDEST HIT STATES
California
CASES: 3,494,575
DEATHS: 47,219
Texas
CASES: 2,569,815
DEATHS: 41,346
Florida
CASES: 1,837,285
DEATHS: 29,154
New York
CASES: 1,553,117
DEATHS: 46,141
Illinois
CASES: 1,164,922
DEATHS: 22,199
source: Johns Hopkins University and Centers for Disease Control
Meet an expert on viruses and the pandemic: http://www.scienceinview.com/meet-the-scientists.html
LATEST CORONAVIRUS STATISTICS 2/11/2021
GLOBAL
CASES: 109,463,210
DEATHS: 2,416,661
United States
CASES: 27,746,876
DEATHS: 487,710
FIVE HARDEST HIT STATES
California
CASES: 3,494,575
DEATHS: 47,219
Texas
CASES: 2,569,815
DEATHS: 41,346
Florida
CASES: 1,837,285
DEATHS: 29,154
New York
CASES: 1,553,117
DEATHS: 46,141
Illinois
CASES: 1,164,922
DEATHS: 22,199
source: Johns Hopkins University and Centers for Disease Control
Meet an expert on viruses and the pandemic: http://www.scienceinview.com/meet-the-scientists.html
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