Maine states that shipping uncertainty is hampering vaccine deployment

According to the best infectious disease experts in Maine and other officials across the country, the uncertainty surrounding federal vaccine shipments is the COVID-19 vaccine when the virus is rampant in Maine and across the country. Is confusing the distribution of.

Dr. Nirab Shah, director of the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, plans to begin vaccination of state life support facility staff and residents with a last-minute reduction in vaccine doses arriving next week by the Trump administration. He said he was late.

“I want to know if these types of expected shifts are coming,” Shah said in a media briefing on Friday. “It sadly and unfortunately affected us. The state had to choose not to activate another stage of the vaccine program.

It wasn’t clear how the US Food and Drug Administration approved an emergency use authorization on Friday night. Second vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health will influence the delivery of vaccines to the state.

In addition to the turmoil between state authorities, there is now a way for the general public to track vaccine distribution through Operation Warp Speed, a Trump Cabinet management program whose mission is to facilitate the development and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. There is none. Neither the state nor the federal government has posted regular updates regarding the number of doses delivered and administered. Shah provided some of that information at this week’s briefing, and the CDC in Maine said on Friday that an online dashboard was being developed with the latest information on vaccine deployments, but did not provide a timeline. It was.

Meanwhile, little information was released this week about plans to launch vaccinations at nursing homes in Maine. This effort may start on Monday.

Dissatisfaction with the U.S. week-old vaccine deployment nationwide later this week, when Operation Warp Speed ​​said that vaccine shipments scheduled for next week would contain doses about 40% less than expected. Did. Shah called for more stable vaccine deployments, but some officials in other states were more frank.

“This is destructive and frustrating,” Democratic Governor of Washington Jay Inslee wrote on Twitter Thursday.

“Reducing state quotas is unexplained, confusing and embarrassing,” Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said in a statement.

Recently, more than 12 state governors and health leaders told them that the federal government would ship less Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine next week than originally expected, AP said.

The cause of the cut remains unknown on Friday, and federal officials said earlier figures were forecasts, not promises, and that the state would eventually get a full quota. Vaccine maker Pfizer states that there are many vaccines ready to ship.

Maine received its first vaccination this week and was swiftly administered to thousands of front-line healthcare workers in seven large hospitals.

As of 8:15 am on Friday, 2,264 people were receiving the vaccine for the first time, and the hospital continued to inoculate hundreds of people a day, Shah said. These healthcare professionals will be vaccinated with a second vaccine 21 days after the first vaccine.

Of the initial 12,675 doses, 5,850 were targeted at healthcare professionals and 6,825 were targeted at state residents and nursing home staff. In Maine and other states, there were unexpected bonuses on the first shipment. This is because each vial contains an additional dose, which increases the dose by 20%, which is sufficient for an additional vaccination of about 2,500 people.

Maine has approximately 75,000 healthcare professionals in direct contact with patients and approximately 6,200 residents in skilled nursing homes.

Vaccinations for residents of nursing homes could begin on Monday, but it was not clear if any facilities were ready to start the program on Friday. Nursing homes have been busy this week trying to get a signed consent form from the patient or his family.

The federal government is working with commercial pharmacies to send teams to nursing homes to administer vaccines.

A CVS Health spokesperson confirmed that the pharmacy team would open a clinic in a skilled nursing facility starting Monday, but refused to disclose details of the facility to visit or the dose to be administered. A spokeswoman also declined to answer whether CVS already has a dose or is waiting for it.

“Several stores in Maine were selected to store vaccines for vaccinations in nursing homes based on their geographical proximity to those facilities,” said Senior Manager of Corporate Communications. Mary Gattuso says. “The vaccination pharmacy team will receive the vaccine from these stores on Monday and head for the first vaccination visit that day. We do not disclose the specific amount of vaccine stored at these pharmacies. Hmm.”

According to Gattuso, CVS needs to store vaccines in a combination of dry ice and a special storage container developed by Pfizer to keep it at minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit). She referred the reporter to state officials for more information on the amount of vaccine assigned.

A spokesman for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said the pharmacy works directly with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so the state does not know where the vaccines are stored and distributed.

A Walgreens spokesperson said vaccinations will begin in approximately 800 long-term care facilities in Maine and 11 other states starting Monday, “including many of the rural and urban areas where medical services are inadequate. But did not provide any details.

The state of Maine had planned to expand vaccinations to livelihood support facilities and other long-term care facilities from the week of December 28, Shah said.

But he said the state had to curtail these plans after being told Thursday that it would only take 8,775 times next week instead of the original estimate of 13,650. Shah was uncertain whether the state would receive additional vaccine at the next shipment, or whether the reduced amount would be carried over to the next week.

“As a result of Operation Warp Speed’s cuts, the start is delayed, which means that some individuals and staff living in life support facilities and other long-term care facilities may not be able to start the vaccine clinic for another week,” Shah said. Mr. says. .. “I hope I can activate it next week, but I can’t promise it because I haven’t been given a quote.”

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