Governors bitterly accused the Trump administration on Friday of misleading states about the amount of COVID-19 vaccine they can expect as they step up vaccinations for seniors and others. But the government attributed the anger to confusion and misguided expectations on the part of the states.
Meanwhile, the race between the vaccine and the virus is about to heat up: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the new, more contagious variant first seen in Britain will likely become the dominant version in March will be in the US.
The CDC said the variant is about 50% more contagious than the virus that causes most cases in this country.
“We want to raise awareness,” says Dr. Jay Butler, CDC deputy director of infectious diseases.
The clash over the pace of the administration’s COVID-19 vaccine allocations threatens to escalate tensions between the Trump administration and some states over who is responsible for the relatively slow start of the vaccination attack against the plague that afflicts more than 390,000 Americans killed.
Oregon had announced earlier this week that it would expand its vaccine eligibility to about 760,000 residents ages 65 and older, as well as teachers and daycare providers, because of what it promised would increase the state’s vaccine allocation.
But Democratic Gov. Kate Brown said those plans are now confused because of “deception on a national scale” by the government.
On Twitter, Brown said that General Gustave F. Perna, who leads Operation Warp Speed, had told her that states will not receive larger quantities of vaccines from the national stockpile next week “because there is no federal reserve of doses.”
As a result of what she called “a cruel joke,” Brown said the state will now delay vaccination of seniors to February 8 instead of January 23, initially limiting it to people 80 and older.
In late Friday, Oregon health officials said a case of the variant had been diagnosed in the Portland area in a patient who had no travel history.
Minnesota Government Tim Walz, a Democrat, said he was one of several governors misled by federal officials about the availability of a strategic supply of doses.
“This one has passed so far it turned out to be almost unimaginable,” he said. Who is prosecuted for this? What should states do if they have been lied to and made all their plans around this? “
Alena Yarmosky, a spokeswoman for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, said governors were “explicitly” told on Tuesday that they would receive additional doses. As a result, Northam, a Democrat and a doctor, had swung into action to announce that the state would expand approval of the vaccine.
Now the Northam government is trying to determine if those additional supplies don’t exist, Yarmosky said.
“What we see is completely consistent with the dysfunction that has characterized the entire Trump administration response to COVID-19. President-elect (Joe) Biden cannot be sworn in fast enough, ”she said.
Michael Pratt, a spokesperson for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, said states may have been confused in their expectations, but there has been no reduction in the doses sent to them.
Biden alluded to the tensions on Friday, pledging to communicate better with states so they know how much vaccine will arrive and when.
“Right now we hear they can’t plan because they don’t know,” he said. “That stops when we are in the office.”
On Friday, the government had distributed more than 31 million doses across states, US territories and major cities. About 12.3 million doses had been administered, according to online tracking by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There is no evidence that the new variant causes more serious illness or is transmitted differently, and wearing a mask and other precautions still work, the CDC said. Scientists have also expressed confidence that the vaccines are still effective against it.
According to the CDC, the variant has been detected in 12 states and diagnosed in only 76 reported cases. But it’s likely more widespread in the US than the numbers suggest, CDC scientists said.
The two COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the US – made by Pfizer and Moderna – are designed to be given in two doses, three or four weeks apart.
Operation Warp Speed had kept large amounts of vaccine in reserve for weeks to make sure those who got their first dose got their second on time. The practice was a hedge against possible production delays. When HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced on Tuesday that he was closing the practice, it was interpreted as essentially doubling the expected offer.
But there was another big change: He also urged states to open up vaccinations to everyone over the age of 65 and younger people with certain health conditions, even though most had not finished giving injections to all. health workers who are first in line.
The result was a struggle of the state and local health authorities to figure out exactly how much vaccine they would be getting in the coming weeks and how to shoot in front of an audience with higher expectations.
Pratt said doses held in reserve to deliver second shots were released last week. However, it’s unclear whether they were all sent ahead of the Trump administration’s announcement early this week that states should open up vaccination to more people. He said states are getting the required second doses they need and the number of first doses is stable.
Pfizer said it works around the clock to produce millions of doses per day, adding, “We don’t foresee any difficulties in delivering on the commitments we have made” to deliver Operation Warp Speed. Moderna did not immediately respond to inquiries about its supplies.
In Mary’s Woods, an elderly community in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, residents expressed fear that they will have to wait longer for their vaccinations. Several have COVID-19 and others are terrified it could spread to them quickly.
“I am quite disappointed,” said 75-year-old Joan Burns. ‘We are isolated and it is difficult to talk to anyone. I’m as anxious as I’ve ever been, and I know it’s escalating. We’re just playing the odds now, really. “
Elsewhere in the country, in hard-hit California, where 3,675 people have died from COVID-19 last week, officials are rushing to help overwhelmed coroners. The Office of Emergency Services said it has secured 98 refrigerated trailers to serve as makeshift morgues.
___
Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.