Analysis: First U.S. delivery of COVID-19 vaccine will leave out many high-risk workers

Analysis: First U.S. delivery of COVID-19 vaccine will leave out many high-risk workers The U.S. government's first shipment of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses to be divided among states and federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, will fall far short of protecting high priority groups such as healthcare workers, a Reuters analysis has found... Rebecca Spalding, Carl O’Donnell U.S.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government’s first shipment of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses to be divided among states and federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, will fall far short of protecting high priority groups such as healthcare workers, a Reuters analysis has found.

Across the country, state health departments are preparing local hospitals for the first shipments of Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes it, possibly as early as mid-December.

The first shipment is expected to cover inoculations of 3.2 million people, nowhere near enough for the 21 million U.S. healthcare workers. And government officials said initial shipments would also go to five government agencies including the Departments of Defense, State and the Veterans Health Administration.

The subsequent two weekly vaccine distributions could cover 7 to 10 million people a week, provided a second vaccine - from Moderna Inc - is authorized early in the second half of December, and Pfizer meets its distribution estimates, according to data provided by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the companies. Federal officials have not disclosed exactly how many doses will be in later shipments.

“For the time being, and the foreseeable future, the demand for vaccines is going to exceed the supply by a lot, even for the highest priority groups that are identified,” said Josh Michaud, Kaiser’s associate director of global health policy.

States have the final word on how to distribute vaccines to their citizens, but federal officials have said that of some 330 million U.S. residents, healthcare workers and those in nursing homes should be considered first for vaccines. Many states told Reuters that was their plan.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not respond to a request to comment. The Pentagon declined comment. HHS cited public comments from a Tuesday press call, in which officials said the first dose allocation will be the start of a steady stream of vaccine deliveries. ...

With early supplies limited, the federal government is allocating doses based on state populations, rather than the proportion of the populations at high risk. That means some states’ health workers will be better protected than others. ...

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