Winter weather impinges on vax delivery

Snowy winter weather that has hit many areas of the United States and caused power outages is hampering coronavirus vaccine delivery with backlogged doses expected to go out within the next week, according to White House officials.

“Our logistics and distribution teams have all faced challenges as workers have been snowed in and unable to get to work to package and ship the vaccines, kits and required diluent,” said Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

Road closures have also held up vaccine delivery and more than 2,000 vaccine sites are located in areas with power outages and therefore are unable to receive doses, Slavitt said.

“The vaccines are sitting safe and sound in our factories and hubs ready to be shipped out as soon as the weather allows,” Slavitt said, adding that 1.4 million doses were in transit on Friday.

All the backlogged doses are expected to be delivered within the next week, and states are asked to help catch up by extending hours at vaccine sites in the coming days and preparing for additional supply.

Some of the worst impacts of the snow are taking place in Texas, where many residents are still without electricity and water.

In Massachusetts, an extended storm spanning over two days left some areas of the state with up to seven inches of snow but did not impact vaccine appointments.

White House officials in a Friday press briefing also announced five new federally run vaccination sites will soon be opening up. There will be one site in Pennsylvania and four sites in Florida with the capacity of vaccinating thousands of patients per day.

Vaccination efforts thus far have yielded encouraging safety data, as a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report shows that after administration of 13.8 million doses in the first month of immunization, no serious safety problems have been detected.

There were reports of severe but treatable allergic reactions which totaled 4.5 cases per one million doses administered, which is a similar rate compared to other common vaccines, said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

Coronavirus trends nationwide are also providing a source of hope for Americans.

The current seven-day average of about 77,000 coronavirus cases is the lowest reported since the end of October, Walensky said.

The seven-day average of new hospital admissions has also gone down 56% since a peak on Jan. 9 and currently stands at about 7,200 patients.

The trends are still much higher than the low totals seen in the summer, and the impact of vaccination efforts still has yet to make its way into the data.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2NHRXue