Spursex
Alert Team
I was about to apologise to you for not allowing you to get your hands on Julian Assange, but then I read this;
Against other countries progress with this who would believe we almost look like the shining example of organisation !!
The vaccine blame game
In the week since our last newsletter, U.S. distribution of coronavirus vaccines has descended into turmoil. Now, millions of vaccines could expire before they reach people in need.
The Trump administration predicted 20 million people would receive at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of 2020. The final figure was about four million. And only 365,294 people in nursing homes and long-term-care centers have been vaccinated, despite more than 2.5 million doses distributed for those facilities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Critics say the U.S. government has mismanaged the rollout from top to bottom. Federal, state, and local officials blamed each other for botched logistics and funding shortfalls.
State officials — struggling to handle outbreaks, mass testing campaigns, overflowing intensive care units and uncertain contact tracing — say they need more help from the federal government. And local governments are chafing at state restrictions.
In New York City, only 110,000 people have received a vaccine dose — about a quarter of the total number received by the city. Mayor Bill de Blasio called on the state government — which has limited vaccinations to health care workers and those living and working at nursing homes — to allow older people and essential workers to receive the vaccine.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo asserted that the problem was a local issue, and urging Mr. de Blasio and other local leaders to take “personal responsibility” for their performance. Mr. Cuomo also threatened to fine hospitals if they did not step up the vaccination rate.
The $900 billion federal pandemic relief package will provide an additional $9 billion toward vaccination costs. But funds will arrive long after local health departments have started vaccinating residents. Slowdowns touch almost every part of the country.
- In Puerto Rico, a shipment of vaccines did not arrive until the workers who would have administered them had left for the Christmas holiday.
- In Houston, the city health department’s phone system crashed on the first day of a free vaccination clinic, after receiving more than 250,000 calls.
- In Tennessee, older people lined up on a sidewalk, leaning on walkers and wrapping themselves in blankets while they waited for a county health department to open its free clinic. The clinic exhausted its supply of vaccine before 10 a.m.
- In Florida, vaccine rollout sites continue to be overwhelmed in some places, with people waiting for hours. Gov. Ron DeSantis said hospitals may have future supplies of coronavirus vaccine reduced if they do not administer doses quickly enough.
You can follow the U.S. rollout with our vaccine tracker.
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