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 vaccinations for seniors and others increase. But the government attributed the anger to the confusion and misguided expectations on the part of the states.
Meanwhile, the race between the vaccine and the virus may be about to heat up: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the new most infectious variant seen in Britain is likely to become the version dominating the United States in March.
The CDC said the variant is about 50% more contagious than the virus that is causing most cases in that country.
“We want to sound the alarm,” said Dr. Jay Butler, CDC deputy director of infectious diseases.
The clash over the pace of government COVID-19 vaccine allocations threatens to increase tensions between the Trump administration and some states over who is responsible for the relatively slow start of the scourge vaccination campaign that has killed more than 390,000 Americans.
Oregon had announced earlier this week that it would expand eligibility for the vaccine 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 allocation of state vaccines would be increased.
But Democratic Gov. Kate Brown said those plans are now in disarray due to “nationwide deception” by the administration.
Through Twitter, Brown said General Gustave F. Perna, who leads Operation Warp Speed, told him that states will not receive an increase in national storage vaccine shipments next week “because there is no federal dose reserve “.
As a result of what he called a “cruel joke,” Brown said the state will now postpone vaccination of seniors to Feb. 8, instead of Jan. 23, and will initially limit it to 80-year-olds. or more.
On Friday afternoon, Oregon health officials said a case of the variant in the Portland area had been diagnosed 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 supply.
“This is 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 around it?”
Alena Yarmosky, a spokeswoman for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, said on Tuesday the governors were “explicitly told” that they would be provided with additional doses. Northam, a Democrat and doctor, had moved quickly as a result of announcing that the state would expand vaccine eligibility.
Now, the Northam administration is trying to determine if such additional supplies do not exist, Yarmosky said.
“What we’re seeing is totally in line with the dysfunction that has characterized the entire Trump administration’s response to COVID-19. President-elect (Joe) Biden can’t be sworn in fast enough,” he said.
Michael Pratt, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said states may have been confused in their expectations, but that there has been no reduction in the doses sent to them.
I’m pretty disappointed. We are kidnapped and it is difficult to talk to anyone. I’m as anxious as ever, and I know it’s increasing. For now, we’re just playing the odds.
–Joan Burns, Portland, Oregon
Biden alluded to Friday’s tensions and pledged to better communicate with states to find out what vaccine will arrive and when.
“Right now we’re feeling like they can’t plan because they don’t know,” he said. “That stops when we’re in charge.”
As of Friday, the government had distributed more than 31 million doses to major states, U.S. territories and cities. About 12.3 million doses had been administered, according to online monitoring by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There is no evidence that the new variant causes more serious illnesses or is transmitted differently, and wearing masks and other precautions still work, the CDC said. Scientists have also expressed confidence that vaccines are still effective against it.
According to CDC, the variant has been detected in 12 states and has been diagnosed in only 76 reported cases. But it is probably more widespread in the United States than the figures 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 had kept a large number of vaccines in reserve to ensure that those who received the first dose received the second in time. The practice was a protection against possible delays in manufacturing. When HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced Tuesday that the practice was over, it was interpreted as essentially doubling the expected offer.
But there was another huge change: it also urged states to open vaccines to all people over the age of 65 and to young people with certain health problems, even though most had not yet finished firing shots on all professionals. of health.
The result was a fight by state and local health authorities to find out exactly what vaccine they would receive in the coming weeks and how to increase the shots for an audience with higher expectations.
Pratt said last week doses were released that were kept in reserve to provide second shots. It’s unclear, however, if everyone sent in before the Trump administration’s announcement earlier this week that states should open up vaccination to more people. He said states receive the necessary second doses they need and the number of first doses is stable.
Pfizer said it works 24 hours a day to produce millions of doses a day, adding, “We do not anticipate problems in meeting the commitments we have made” to supply Operation Warp Speed. Modern did not immediately answer questions about its supplies.
In Mary’s Woods, a community of retirees in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, residents expressed fear they would have to wait longer for their vaccinations. Several have COVID-19, and others are scared so it can spread soon.
“I’m pretty disappointed,” said Joan Burns, 75. “We’re kidnapped and it’s hard to talk to anyone. I’m as anxious as ever, and I know it’s increasing. We’re really playing the odds.”
Elsewhere in the country, in California, where 3,675 people died as a result of COVID-19 last week, officials are rushing to help overwhelmed county forensics. The Office of Emergency Services said it has secured 98 refrigerated trailers to serve as makeshift noses.
Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.
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