Published 11:49 IST, December 20th 2020
Trump's COVID-19 vaccine chief apologises for 'miscommunication' over shipments
Trump's Covid vaccine chief General Gustave Perna admitted on December 19 that he failed over the initial number of doses promised to states
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The Army General in charge of distributing Coronavirus vaccines in the United States admitted on December 19 that he failedto deliver the initial number of doses promised to the states. Gen. Gustave Perna, who is the chief operating officer for Operation Warp Speed, apologised after a number of states last week received fewer doses of the vaccine than planned. In a telephone briefing, he said that he took “personal responsibility” for the miscommunication to state Governors.
“I failed. I’m adjusting. I am fixing and we will move forward from there,” he told reporters. The Army General said that he had given out the number of doses based on what he believed would be ready. He added that he is the one who approved forecast sheets and he is the who approved allocations.
“There is no problem with the process. There is no problem with the Pfizer vaccine. There is no problem with Moderna vaccine,” Gen Perna said.
He added, “Please accept my personal apologies if this was disruptive to your decision-making”.
The General’s remarks come a day after a second COVID vaccine was added in the fight against the deadly virus. According to BBC, Governors' in more than a dozen states have said that the federal government has told them that next week’s shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be less than originally projected. While taking to Twitter, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington state called for “accurate, predictable numbers to plan and ensure on-the-ground success”. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer also said that the White House was “slow-walking the process”.
General Perna said that he did not know the “exactness” when all the vaccine available would be distributed. However, he added that the shipping for the newly approved Moderna vaccine will begin on Sunday. He also said that he was on track to get a combined total of about 20 million doses of the vaccines to states by the first week of January.
US’ vaccination programme
Meanwhile, both vaccines are said to be about 95 per cent effective. The vaccination programmed in the United States aims to reach 100 million people by April. Millions of doses are set to arrive by Monday after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of the vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health, as per AP reports. Once delivered, the vaccine will be provided to the citizens at no cost and the expenses for the private-sector administration partners will be covered by healthcare payers: private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, and an HHS program to cover COVID-19 costs for the uninsured, the US HHS informed. The Moderna vaccine is similar to Pfizer Inc. and Germany’s BioNTech that is now being dispensed to millions of health care workers and nursing home residents.
(With inputs from AP)
11:49 IST, December 20th 2020