Published 15:28 IST, February 16th 2021
US: Joe Biden gets a letter by Governors about 'confusion over vaccine rollout'
Few governors have expressed concerns over the vaccine rollout by Biden’s administration. The governors wrote that there is a need for better coordination.
A group of governors expressed concerns over the vaccine rollout by Joe Biden's administration on Monday, February 15. In a letter addressed to the White House, the governors said that there is a need for better coordination between the federal government and states to avoid the confusion and duplicative efforts. The executive committee of the National Governors Association, that includes Democrats and Republicans, raised concern in two areas — numbers publicly reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for vaccine distribution and the separate federal distribution systems.
Various aspects of letter
An anonymous person, who has access to the letter said that the governors wanted the administration to be more clear with the American public, reports CNN. He added that the problems in receiving the vaccine are due to a national shortage of doses and not due to the failures of state and local officials. Governors also expect precise communication from the Biden administration on where vaccine doses are headed. This was after running into situations where there are vaccination sites without vaccine doses.
The states are also unaware of pharmacies or assisted living facilities that are getting the shipment of vaccines from the federal government. This adds to the complication. Few aspects have been discussed over phone calls but not mentioned in the letter, as per reports.
Vaccination has been the number one priority of the Biden administration. Recently, he announced that the US has secured an additional 200 million doses of Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. During his address to the National Institutes of Health, Biden said that the nation has signed the “final contracts” with both the companies for 100 million doses of each COVID-19 vaccine candidate and have even moved up the delivery date. What US President termed as “further good news”, both companies have agreed and now are “contractually obligated” to expedite the delivery of jabs by the end of May and not in June.
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Updated 15:28 IST, February 16th 2021