WASHINGTON – Governors bitterly accused the Trump administration on Friday of misleading states about the amount of COVID-19 vaccine they can expect to receive as they expand vaccinations for the elderly and others. But the government attributed the anger of confusion and wrong expectations to states.
Meanwhile, the race between the vaccine and the virus may be heating up: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that the new, more infectious variant first seen in the UK is likely to become the dominant version in the US by March.
The CDC said the variant is about 50% more contagious than the virus that causes most cases in the country.
“We want to sound the alarm,” said Dr. Jay Butler, CDC’s deputy director of infectious diseases.
The clash over the timing of government COVID-19 vaccine allocations threatens escalating tensions between the Trump administration and some states over who is responsible for the relatively slow start of vaccination against the scourge that has killed more than 390,000 Americans.
Oregon had announced earlier this week that it would extend vaccine eligibility to approximately 760,000 residents age 65 and older, as well as teachers and child care providers, because of what it said were promises that the state’s allocation would be vaccines will be increased.
But Democratic Gov. Kate Brown said the plans are now in disarray because of “national deception” by the administration.
On Twitter, Brown said that General Gustave F. Perna, who leads Operation Warp Speed, told him that states would not receive increased vaccine transfers from the national stock next week “because there is no federal dose reserve.”
Following what she called a “cruel joke,” Brown said the state would now postpone vaccination of the elderly to Feb. 8 instead of Jan. 23 and initially limit it to 80-year-olds. over.
Late Friday, Oregon health officials said a case of the variant was diagnosed in the Portland area in a patient who had no travel history.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said he was among several governors deceived by federal officials about the availability of a strategic dose source.
“It’s so far beyond pale to be almost unimaginable,” he said. “Who will be prosecuted for this? What should states do when they have been lied to and made all their plans about it?”
Alena Yarmosky, a spokeswoman for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, said governors were “explicitly” told Tuesday they would be given additional doses. Northam, a Democrat and a doctor, moved quickly as a result to announce that the state will expand vaccine eligibility.
Now the Northam administration is trying to determine if these additional supplies do not exist, Yarmosky said.
“What we see is fully in line with the dysfunction that characterized the entire Trump administration’s response to COVID-19. President-elect (Joe) Biden cannot be sworn in quickly enough,” she said.
Michael Pratt, a spokesman for the US Department of Health and Human Services, said states could have been confused in their expectations, but that there had been no reduction in the doses delivered to them.
I’m pretty disappointed. We are being held hostage and it is difficult to talk to anyone. I’m as anxious as I was and I know he’s climbing. We’re really playing odds right now.
–Joan Burns, Portland, Oregon
Biden alluded to tensions on Friday and pledged to better communicate with states so he knows how long the vaccine will last and when.
“Right now we hear that I can’t plan because I don’t know,” he said. – That stops when we’re in office.
As of Friday, the government had distributed more than 31 million doses to states, US territories and major cities. Approximately 12.3 million doses were administered, according to online monitoring by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There is no evidence that the new variant causes more severe illness or is transmitted differently, and wearing a mask and other precautions still works, the CDC said. Scientists have also expressed confidence that vaccines are still effective against it.
According to the CDC, the variant was detected in 12 states and diagnosed in only 76 reported cases. But it’s probably more prevalent in the United States than the numbers suggest, CDC scientists said.
The two US-approved COVID-19 vaccines – manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna – are designed to be given in two doses, three or four weeks apart.
For weeks, Operation Warp Speed kept large quantities of vaccine in reserve to ensure that those who received the first dose received the second on time. The practice was a cover against possible manufacturing delays. When HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced on Tuesday that the practice was ending, it was interpreted as essentially doubling the planned offer.
But there was another huge change: he also called on states to open vaccinations to all people over the age of 65 and younger people with certain health problems, even though most have not yet finished administering vaccines to all workers in the world. health.
The result was a struggle by state and local health authorities to find out exactly how much vaccine they will receive in the coming weeks and how to step up vaccines for a higher-expectations audience.
Pratt said doses that were held in reserve to deliver a second shot were released last week. However, it is unclear whether they were all sent before the Trump administration’s announcement earlier this week that states should open vaccination to more people. He said states are getting the second dose they need, and the number of first doses is stable.
Pfizer said it is working 24 hours a day to produce millions of doses a day, adding: “We have no plans to meet the commitments we have made” to deliver the Warp Speed operation. Moderna did not immediately answer questions about its supply.
In Mary’s Woods, a retirement community in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, residents expressed fear that they would have to wait longer for their vaccinations. Some have COVID-19, and others are terrified that it may spread to them soon.
“I’m pretty disappointed,” said 75-year-old Joan Burns. “We’re being held hostage and it’s hard to talk to anyone. I’m just as anxious as I was and I know he’s climbing. We’re playing odds right now.”
Elsewhere in California, where 3,675 people were hit by COVID-19 last week, officials are rushing to help forensic doctors. The Office of Emergency Services said it provided 98 refrigerated trailers to serve as a makeshift morgue.
Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus of Portland, Oregon contributed to the report.
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