Transcript
Unger: Hello. This is the American Medical Association s COVID-19 update. Today, we re talking about the challenges we ve seen with vaccine distribution and administration at the state level. I m joined today by James Blumenstock, senior vice president for pandemic response and recovery at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials or ASTHO, in Brielle, New Jersey, Rebecca Coyle, executive director, American Immunization Registry Association in Washington D.C. and Claire Hannan, executive director, Association of Immunization Managers in Rockville, Maryland. I m Todd Unger, AMA s chief experience officer in Chicago. Mr. Blumenstock, let s start with you. Welcome back to our program. When we last spoke in November, we talked about what you referred to as the last mile of the vaccine rollout or the administration piece. And we have been hearing that the roll out is going much more slowly than expected. In your view, why is this the case?
A nationwide COVID-19 vaccine shortage is creating postponements and frustrations among Florida seniors hoping to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, which has infected some 1.6 million people in the state and killed more than 24,500 â 83% of them 65 or older. Floridaâs Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees said the state has little choice but to wait for the federal government â and vaccine manufacturers â to increase vaccine allotments being sent to the states.
This affected a mass vaccination effort in The Villages by the company Global Medical Response, which temporarily put operations on hold this week. GMR had booked 7,500 appointments for the week not anticipating a disruption in deliveries, a representative from the company said. It will pick up where it left off when vaccines arrive.
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