As demand for vaccine wanes, officials shift from not wasting a dose to not wasting an arm

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Mon, 2021-05-17 11:11 — mike kraft

As demand for vaccine wanes, officials shift from not wasting a dose to not wasting an arm The CDC said providers shouldn’t miss an opportunity to vaccinate someone — even if that means opening a vial containing many doses. States have begun changing their approach in response. Jenna Portnoy Washington Post

As demand for coronavirus vaccines wanes, public health officials are shifting from not wasting a single dose to not wasting a single arm — even if it means cracking open a multi-dose vial to vaccinate one patient.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday advised providers not to miss an opportunity to vaccinate someone who wants the shot — even if that means opening a vial containing many doses without knowing if all of them will be used.

The message prompted public health officials in many states, including Virginia and Maryland, and in D.C. to align with the new guidance and encourage primary-care doctors — who might vaccinate only a few patients at a time — to administer the doses without worrying as much about wastage.

The new approach means providers face a painful choice: puncture a vial containing multiple doses, allowing as many as 10 doses to go to waste, or let a patient walk away unvaccinated.

“It’s going to be a big shift,” said Danny Avula, Virginia’s vaccine coordinator. “I think a lot of providers are going to struggle with that given four months of completely the opposite message. But we’ll continue to reassure them every day.”

The CDC statement Tuesday says more vaccine may be wasted, making doctors uneasy and raising ethical questions as other nations face vaccine shortages.

“It’s why we need to strike the right balance,” Avula said. “We do need to be good global stewards. We do need to think about people across the world.”

Early in the vaccine distribution effort, hospitals and other providers were criticized for failing to quickly administer all their doses, leaving some sitting on shelves, despite overwhelming demand from the public. People stalked pharmacies waiting for leftovers.

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) of Virginia required providers to use their vaccine doses within a week of receiving them. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) of Maryland threatened to withhold vaccines from those who sat on doses.

As supplies increased and eligibility expanded, governments and providers held mass vaccination clinics and accepted walk-ups, boosting the rate of fully vaccinated people to about 40 percent in the greater Washington region.

About two weeks ago, supply outstripped demand, forcing public health officials to rely on doctor’s offices, mobile units and other small sites to vaccinate people who did not want to go out of their way for the shot, are hard to reach or are hesitant.

Virginia officials this past week made policy changes intended to give doctors more flexibility. Under the heading “No Missed Opportunities,” they lifted constraints on when providers had to use supplies, said people could get second doses wherever convenient for them and began to explore ways to distribute small shipments — as little as one vial — around the state. ...