USA TODAY
Operation Warp Speed thought it had a futuristic solution to help ration COVID-19 vaccines so those most at risk would get doses first. It spent $16 million on Tiberius, a high-tech system meant to not only track the shipments of the vaccines but guide local decisions of where to send them.
Tiberius, which took Star Trek Capt. James T. Kirk s middle name, would allow “granular planning” all the way down to the doctor’s office, provide “a ZIP code-by-ZIP code view of priority populations,” and “ease the burden” on public health officials, the federal government said.
But the system hasn’t lived up to that promise. For many states, Tiberius proved either so irrelevant or so complicated that the only incentive for them to log on each week is to check the most basic of numbers: how many doses of vaccine they re getting. That has contributed to a patchy rollout, where access depends more on where you live and how internet savvy you are.
Western states vaccine review group approves Johnson & Johnson vaccine as Washington ramps up effort
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A national system to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines has largely failed as states rely on their own systems
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18,923 in Kennewick
Those totals include a mix of first and second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. This week, the DOH says the sites will be prioritizing patients receiving their second dose, where possible.
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Another tool in the DOH s belt: the introduction of a new coronavirus vaccination site at Lumen Field Events Center (formerly CenturyLink Events Center) in Seattle. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan says the site will administer 5,000 vaccines a week for the first few weeks, but should eventually be able to perform 21,000 vaccinations daily when in full swing.
Those efforts and efforts of health care providers across the state will see a significant boost as vaccine allotments for Washington will be increasing over the next few weeks. The state is expected to receive a total of 285,200 doses by the end of this week, and 313,280 the week after and those totals don t include the recently-approved Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which will also be added to the stat