HOUSTON (AP) – A giant vaccination center is opening in Houston to deliver 126,000 doses of coronavirus over the next three weeks. Nevada health officials are working overtime to distribute delayed fires. And Rhode Island is rescheduling meetings after a vaccine shipment failed to arrive as scheduled earlier in the week.
From coast to coast, states were battling vaccines on Tuesday a week after winter storms hit much of the United States and led to the closure of clinics, cancellation of appointments and nationwide delivery arrears.
But the limited supply of the two approved COVID-19 vaccines hampered the pace of vaccinations just before the extreme weather delayed the delivery of about 6 million doses.
The White House promised on Tuesday that aid is on the way.
States can expect about 14.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccine this week, a nearly 70 percent increase in distribution over the past month, White House Secretary of State Jen Psaki said Tuesday. White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients also told governors Tuesday that the number of doses sent directly to pharmacies will increase by about 100,000 this week, Psaki said.
Intensified efforts came as the number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States exceeded 500,000, far more than any other country.
More than 44 million Americans have received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, and about 1.4 million a day have received the first or second dose in the past seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although deaths and average daily cases have decreased, some experts say that not enough Americans have been inoculated for the vaccine to be the reason. The decline is instead attributed to the passage of the holidays, more people staying indoors during the winter and better compliance with the rules of disguise and social distancing.
Moreover, they warn that dangerous variants could cause the trend to reverse. States are responding while trying to recover from last week’s break and prepare to vaccinate more people in the coming weeks.
The federally funded vaccination site in Houston will open Wednesday at NRG Park, operating seven days a week for three weeks to distribute 126,000 first doses before moving to the second dose, officials said.
Texans are recovering from a devastating winter storm that killed at least 35 people, left millions without energy and water, and delayed vaccinations.
“It was trauma after trauma and people deserve some good news, some hope,” said Judge Harris Lina Hidalgo, the county’s chief of staff.
In Buda, Texas, retired teachers Donna and Gerald Haschke, both 74, were due to receive their second dose last week, but their appointments were canceled three times due to the storm. They are scheduled to receive doses on Thursday.
The couple is eager to be completely vaccinated after months of having to reduce all their activities due to the coronavirus. Gerald Haschke has heart stents and Donna Haschke has atrial fibrillation, she said.
“My cardiologists said, ‘You don’t want to get COVID,'” Donna Haschke said. “I said, ‘No, no.’ It was a warning to me that I should stay home. ”
In Mississippi, where COVID-19 vaccinations fell last week amid freezing temperatures and icy roads, health officials automatically rescheduled appointments and planned to schedule more than usual over the weekend.
The state Department of Health said Monday that only 32,540 vaccinations were administered in the state last week, down from 106,691 the previous week.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said Monday that 46,000 doses of the long-delayed COVID-19 vaccine have begun to arrive in the state. The head of the State Office of Health for Children, Family and Community said officials will work overtime to administer these doses, along with regularly scheduled transportation this week.
President Joe Biden said every American who wants a vaccine will be able to get one by the end of July.
But demand continues to exceed the limited reserves distributed by the US government.
Directors of five companies with contracts to provide photos to the United States – Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Novavax – testified about supply issues Tuesday before the Congressional Energy and Trade Committee.
Looking to the summer, Pfizer and Moderna executives said they expect to complete the delivery of 300 million doses each, and J&J aims to deliver another 100 million doses – more than enough to vaccinate every American adult.
Arizona will increase vaccinations by opening a fourth state mass vaccination clinic, state health department officials said. In addition, transportation costs to and from vaccination schedules will now be covered for people enrolled in the Arizona Medicaid program, Gov. Doug Ducey said.
“This change will make it easier for the most vulnerable Arizonans … to get vaccinated,” Ducey said.
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, said 11 mobile clinics will open in the vast Central Valley of California, an agricultural region that has been severely affected by coronavirus. They will be used mainly for the vaccination of agricultural workers who do not have transportation to larger vaccination sites or cannot browse the state’s online registration portal.
Newsom said the state is also sending an additional 34,000 doses of vaccine to that area from a pharmacy that was not using them quickly enough.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s top health official said Tuesday that more than 2,400 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been released in the past month in Shelby County, which includes Memphis, while local officials sat down. tens of thousands of photos they thought were already in their arms.
Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said a Health Department investigation over the weekend found Feb. 3 issues that included altered doses, an excessive vaccine inventory, insufficient record keeping and no formal process for managing expiring vaccines. soon. A federal investigation is also expected.
___
Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan. Associated Press writers Emily Wagster Pettus of Jackson, Mississippi; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Kansas; Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee; Mark Pratt in Providence, Rhode Island; Michelle Monroe in Sacramento, California; Michelle Price in Las Vegas; and Terry Tang of Phoenix contributed to this report.