VACCINE ROLLOUTTHAT'S NOW BEHINDSCHEDULE AROUNDTHE COUNTRY.?WHAT CAN BEDONE TO SPEEDTHINGS UP?MAYA RODRIGUEZ ISGETTING ANSWERS.DESPITE THELIGHTNING-FASTDEVELOPMENT OFSEVERAL COVID-19VACCINES."Relax your arm to yourside."...OPERATION WARPSPEED.
IS NOWHITTING SPEEDBUMPS.
WHEN ITCOMES TO ACTUALLYADMINISTERING THENEEDED SHOTS."The issue is not thesupply of the vaccine, theissue is not being able toget enough peopleinjected with the vaccine."THE FEDERALGOVERNMENT SET AGOAL OF HAVING 20MILLION PEOPLEVACCINATED AGAINSTCOVID-19.
BY THEEND OF 2020.STARTING WITHHEALTH CAREWORKERS AND THEELDERLY INDECEMBER.BUT ACCORDING TOTHE C-D-C.
NEARLYTWO WEEKS INTO THENEW YEAR.
ABOUT 9MILLION PEOPLE HAVERECEIVED AN INITIALDOSE.AND THE NUMBERSARE EVEN SMALLERFOR THOSE WHO'VERECEIVED THEIRSECOND, REQUIREDSHOT - JUST ABOUT379,000.SO WHAT'S THE HOLDUP?"Indications are that it's allalong the supply chain."DR. BRUCE Y.
LEE IS APUBLIC HEALTHPROFESSOR AT CITYUNIVERSITY OF NEWYORK.
AND ANEXPERT IN VACCINESUPPLY CHAINS.HE SAYS THE DELAYLIES WITH BOTH THEFEDERALGOVERNMENT.
ANDTHE STATES."There's not enoughdelivered to the states.And then you can seethere's this discrepancybetween the number ofdoses that were deliveredto the states, according tothe tracker, and thenumber of doses thatwere administered."BUT DOCTOR LEESAYS.
WHY THAT ISHAPPENING.
ISN'TCLEAR AT ANYGOVERNMENT LEVEL."There is not enoughtransparency in terms ofwhere the issues are andwhere the problems are -because if you don't havethat transparency, youcan't solve the problem."DOCTOR LEE SAYSTHE SOLUTION - MOREFEDERALINVOLVEMENT."Ultimately, this is anational concern.
So, thefederal government needsto organize and coordinatethe entire vaccine supplychain."AS IT STANDS NOW.THE TIMELINE FORWHEN EVERYONE CANGET THE VACCINE.
ISGETTING PUSHEDFURTHER BACK.EVEN IF A MILLIONPEOPLE GETVACCINATED EVERYDAY -- WHICH THEYAREN'T EVEN CLOSETO RIGHT NOW -- ITWOULD TAKE SIXMONTHS FOR THESHOT.
TO REACHJUST HALF OF THECOUNTRY'S 330MILLION PEOPLE."There are lives that wewill continue to lose thatwe could have saved.
Sothis is really, really seriousbusiness."A HEALTH CRISIS THATCOULD CONTINUE TOSTRETCH WELL INTO20-21.IN WASHINGTON, I'MMAYA RODRIGUEZ.SATURDAY'S
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