Michigan is awaiting doses of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19, but federal delays mean they are in Portage waiting to be shipped rather than administered to front-line workers, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a news conference Friday.
“I still can’t get a clear answer from the Trump administration as to why Michigan, like many other states, is receiving a fraction of the vaccines we would receive,” Whitmer said.
According to the Associated Press, more than a dozen states have been told they expect far fewer doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine next week than they originally expected.
The Associated Press reported that Pfizer said production levels have not changed and that senior officials of President Donald Trump have downplayed the risk of delays.
Whitmer said as far as she can see the federal government is “slow” to get shipping addresses to Pfizer while millions of doses of the vaccine await in warehouses.
“We have hospitals and nursing homes in Michigan ready to administer this vaccine, and the bottleneck appears to be the White House,” Whitmer said. “And I can’t get an answer why.”
Related: Trucks with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine depart from Michigan for distribution
She called the office of Alex Asar, the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, but was unable to reach them. When she does, she has a simple question, “Where are our doses? What is stopping them? When can we expect them? “
“I am angry because this virus is raging in this country. And there is corruption or incompetence. And it keeps us from saving lives and protecting people, ”said Whitmer.
She said states are getting ready for vaccines, but the vaccines are not coming in at the level they promised. She quoted other governors who are also frustrated by the delays.
“If I sound frustrated, it’s because I am,” she said.
Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, also called for clearer communications from the federal government in a statement Friday.
“We find the lack of communication and clarity about the reduced Pfizer vaccine allocation from the US Department of Health and Human Services disappointing and frustrating. Hospitals have gone to great lengths to ensure that primary care providers are available to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which takes vital staff away from patients’ treatment when Michigan is in the midst of a second COVID-19 wave, ”he said .
“Any delay in receiving the vaccine lengthens the vaccination process and puts health professionals at increased risk of contracting this deadly disease.”
Whitmer has long been critical of the federal government for the lack of a national strategy to tackle the coronavirus and reiterated that in her press conference on Friday.
She also announced an extension of some restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus, including a ban on indoor eating. Other restrictions – such as one that previously forbade personal high school education – are being lifted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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