Army General Gustave Perna, the chief officer of Operation Warp Speed, admitted in a briefing on Saturday that there had been “mis-communication” with states about how many doses of Pfizer had been used. COVID-19 the vaccine would initially be available to them.
Perna’s information came after more than 10 states were told this week the number of vaccine doses they expected to receive next week has been reduced, with little information as to why. Perna said he took “personal responsibility” for the misreporting, saying he should review the allocation of doses to certain states after receiving more information from Pfizer about the amount of vaccine available.
“Please accept my personal apology if this was disruptive in the decision-making process,” Perna said, addressing the state governors directly. He also said he would personally inform the governors on Monday.
“There is no problem with the process. There is no problem with the Pfizer vaccine. There is no problem with the Moderna vaccine. It was a planning error and I am responsible,” Perna said. He said he did not understand “exactly” all the steps that had to take place before he could release all the available vaccine.
Perna’s information came after the Food and Drug Administration authorized the Moderna vaccine for emergency use Friday night. Perna said that Operation Warp Speed will not “cut corners” in the distribution of the vaccine. He announced that distribution has begun, and FedEx and UPS trucks will be launched starting Sunday.
The Moderna vaccine has been approved for people 18 years of age or older. Six million initial doses will soon be delivered across the country.
“With the availability of two vaccines now to prevent COVID-19, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that causes a large number of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States every day,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn he said in a press release announcing the decision.
The Moderna vaccine is expected to be about 94.1% effective, similar to the Pfizer vaccine, which was approved last week. But unlike the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna should not be stored below zero.