The U.S. has a ‘backlog’ of six million coronavirus vaccine doses due to the massive winter storms that have swept the Midwest and Texas, the Biden administration revealed on Friday.
Andy Slavitt, the White House senior advisor for COVID-19 response, said during a press briefing that the logjam is three days’ worth of shipments that were supposed to be sent to every single U.S. state.
Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is working to open up more mass vaccination sites across the country.
Slavitt announced at the press briefing that five additional mass vaccination sites are being opened, four in Florida and the fifth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It comes as 57.7 million Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as immunization efforts continue to be ramped up.
Currently, 41 million people in the U.S. – or 12.5 percent of the population – has received an initial dose and 16.1 million – 4.9 percent – are fully inoculated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
An average of between 1.6 and 1.7 million per day are being vaccinated and President Joe Biden is expected to meet his goal of 100 million shots in arms in his first 100 days in office.
Of the doses administered, about 29.5 million have been Pfizer-BioNTech’s jab and 28 million have been the jab from Moderna.
On Friday, President Joe Biden traveled to Michigan Friday to tour a Pfizer vaccine manufacturing plant near Kalamazoo, amid the winter weather causing COVID-19 vaccine delays. along with Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer, as well coronavirus taskforce director Jeffrey Zients, Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla and the facility’s production lead, Shawn Hamilton.
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Andy Slavitt (center), the White House senior advisor for COVID-19 response, said during a White House briefing on Friday that the U.S. has a ‘backlog’ of six million coronavirus vaccine doses
Slavitt said the logjam is three days’ worth of shipments that were supposed to be sent to every single U.S. state.but couldn’t due to the winter storms sweeping the Midwest and Texas as between 1.6 and 1.7 million people continue to be vaccinated every day
Currently, 41 million people in the U.S. – or 12.5% of the population – has received an initial dose and 16.1 million – 4.9% of the population- are fully inoculated
President Joe Biden (left), Jeffrey Zients (center left), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (center right) and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla (right) tour the Pfizer vaccine plant Friday in Kalamazoo, Michigan
On Friday, Slavitt said the storms had delayed the delivery of vaccines in all 50 states due to the historic winter storms that had blasted across the country.
‘Many states have been able to cover some of this delay with existing inventory,’ Slavitt said.
Slavitt went on to explain that delivery hubs at UPS, FedEx and McKesson – which deliver the doses to states – have been reporting staffing shortages.
He said workers ‘are currently snowed in and unable to get to work to package the vaccines’ as well as kits and other supplies needed.
In addition, road closures have left trucks unable to get vaccines to immunization sites from shipping hubs…