Outdated US vaccine data risks squeezing states’ roll out plan

Bloomberg

States including New York and Nevada used outdated federal estimates showing many more doses of Pfizer Inc’s vaccine would be available as they planned for the initial inflow of shots, said a spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The estimates given to states in October for planning purposes said there could be 20 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech SE vaccine available and 15 million doses of Moderna Inc’s shot, according to the spokesperson, who asked not to be identified by name in an emailed response to questions.
More recently, federal officials have said that 6.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 12.5 million doses of the Moderna shots will be available in the first shipments, 68% less than October estimates in Pfizer’s case and 17% less for Moderna.
A smaller-than-expected initial supply of vaccines could squeeze state plans for distributing the shots at a time when the virus is surging nationwide and hospitals are filling up.
“There has been a lot of confusion,” said Claire Hannan, executive director of the nonprofit Association of Immunisation Managers, a professional association for officials in states, territories, and cities that works on vaccine-preventable diseases.
With vaccine shipments expected to start as soon as next week, there’s still no authoritative public accounting of how many doses will go where. While some states have independently said the number of doses they expect, federal officials have declined to give out specific numbers.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last week said the state expected an initial allocation of 170,000 doses of Pfizer’s shot and 40,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine, once the two shots get emergency authorisation in the US Nevada said in a statement that it expected to get 91,650 Pfizer shots and 72,500 of Moderna’s.
Spokespeople for the Nevada governor’s office didn’t immediately respond to questions by email, and couldn’t be reached by phone. Cuomo’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. An advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged that key healthcare workers and nursing home residents be first to receive the shots. Fewer doses than expected could mean longer waits than planned for keeping safe those most at risk.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is set to meet on Thursday to review the Pfizer vaccine’s safety and effectiveness in a final step before an emergency-use authorisation is approved.