The icy explosion in much of the United States caused more confusion and frustration in the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination on Wednesday just as it was speeding up, thickening vaccine deliveries and forcing countless shots to be canceled nationwide. .
In a wide swath of the nation, including the southern states such as Georgia and Alabama, the snowy and slippery climate caused the direct closure of vaccination sites or maintained the necessary shipments, with waiting delays for days.
In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the expected doses this week were delayed by the weather elsewhere in the country, forcing the city to suspend the appointment of 30,000 to 35,000 vaccines.
A public health expert said the delays were unacceptable.
“Having vaccination centers on snowy days will only mean backing up things more than they already are,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior academic at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “The virus has not been on snowy days.”
Adalja said people in charge of vaccination efforts need to find ways to be more weather-resistant, “just as postmen can deliver mail through snow or sleet.” He suggested that clinics use better contingency plans. The goal, he said, should be “a continuous assembly line of vaccines that get into people’s arms.”
Jo Dohogne, of Bartlett, Tennessee, said he had scheduled two appointments this week to receive his second dose of Modern vaccine, but both were canceled due to bad weather.
Dohogne, 75, who has multiple sclerosis, said she felt abandoned when the six-week mark of her second dose approached after her first vaccination on Jan. 14.
“I’m stressed … it’s like I’ve been occupying my whole life,” Dohogne said.
After canceling the appointment for a vaccine on Saturday, Dohogne said a neighbor’s friend helped him navigate the vaccine registration process. But with no news on when she can get her second shot, Dohogne said she is “frustrated and stressed.”
In Washington, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said that in places where vaccination sites have been closed, such as Texas, the government encourages places to increase their hours once they are open.
“We want to make sure that because we’ve wasted time in some states so that people can needles in their arms, our partners should do everything they can to reclaim that lost ground,” he said.
Some vaccine shipments made by Pfizer were delayed to the south due to bad weather, but the company was unaware of any deterioration in the vaccine, said spokesman Eamonn Nolan. Pfizer vaccines, which must be kept frozen at less than 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34.4 degrees Celsius), are shipped with dry ice in temperature-controlled containers that last up to 10 days unopened.
In southern Nevada, officials reported that winter storms had delayed the delivery of Modern vaccines scheduled to be administered as a dose this week.
The United States vaccinates an average of 1.7 million Americans a day against COVID-19, compared to less than a million a month ago. New White House data shows a steady increase in the rate of vaccinations during President Joe Biden’s first month in office.
Much of the increase, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comes from people receiving their second dose. The pace of first-dose vaccinations has been largely stable in recent weeks, hovering around an average of 900,000 shots a day.
Biden is on track to surpass his goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office, though the pace needs to pick up even further to meet his plans to vaccinate almost all adults by the end of the summer.
The White House also said the government will increase genetic analysis of coronavirus samples across the country for information on where more infectious and potentially more deadly mutations can spread.
Faced with frustrating delays, some people showed remarkable persistence. Fran Goldman, 90, of Seattle, told The Seattle Times that he walked 9.7 miles back and forth in the snow to get the vaccine.
Goldman said that after much effort, he had finally gotten a space for Sunday morning, but on Friday and Saturday a strong storm moved in, filling the streets with snow.
Goldman dressed in wool pants and threw warm coats over a short-sleeved shirt so the nurse could reach his arm easily.
“It was not easy. It was a challenge, “he said. He arrived at his appointment just five minutes late.
In other developments, Pennsylvania is facing a temporary shortage of second shots of the Modern vaccine after suppliers inadvertently used them as first doses. More than 100,000 people may need to reschedule their appointments.
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Noveck reported and New York and Naishadham reported Phoenix. Medical writer Linda A. Johnson contributed from Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, Jeff Martin of Atlanta and Michelle R. Smith of Providence, RI