Iowans Get Mixed Messaging On COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

Des Moines IA

18 December, 2020

11:59 AM

Description

the Iowa Capital Dispatch By Linh Ta December 17, 2020 In under 24 hours, the federal government disputed alerts sent out by the Iowa Department of Public Health and other states that their expected allocation of COVID-19 vaccines may be reduced. The Iowa Department of Public Health announced late Wednesday that Iowa's COVID-19 vaccine allocation could be reduced by up to 30%. The state was notified about the potential shipment reduction by federal officials, according to a news release New COVID cases continue to drop; deaths rise Iowa has seen a nearly straight-line drop in new coronavirus cases in the past two weeks, but deaths have risen by nearly two-thirds, the New York Times reported. New cases fell 19% in the past 14 days, and hospitalizations dropped 33%, the newspaper reported. Deaths have risen 64% in the same period. On Wednesday, Iowa recorded 2,531 new cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, and 17 deaths, according to the Times' database. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 746 COVID-19 patients were in Iowa hospitals Thursday afternoon, down from 776 the day before. The number in intensive care had fallen to 146 on Thursday from 152 on Wednesday. The 95 admitted in the past 24 hours was a drop from 108 the previous period. The state recorded 147 current outbreaks at nursing homes, which reported 5,950 cases and 1,135 deaths. The number of counties with test positivity rates of 15% or higher has been falling steadily and stood at 42 Thursday. That is one of the measures the state uses to decide whether a school district will be allowed to hold classes online. — Perry Beeman The state was expected to receive enough Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to provide shots for 172,000 people, beginning the week of Dec. 13, Gov. Kim Reynolds said during a news conference earlier this month. "It appears our allocation may be reduced by as much as 30%, however we are working to gain confirmation and additional details from our federal partners," according to the news release. "It will take us some time to work through next steps and adjust our planning." But on Thursday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said reports that allocations are being reduced are "incorrect." "As was done with the initial shipments of Pfizer vaccine, jurisdictions will receive vaccine at different sites over several days. This eases the burden on the jurisdictions and spreads the workload across multiple days. This same process was successfully used for the initial distribution of Pfizer's vaccine, and we are simply applying lessons learned. Operation Warp Speed is committed to delivering jurisdictions' allocated vaccines according to their plans safely, quickly and efficiently," according to a statement. Pfizer also sent out a statement on Thursday saying there are no COVID-19 production issues and there are no shipment delays. Iowa was not alone in its announcement. Missouri's state health department director announced the state could receive 25 to 30% less of the second dose of Pfizer's COVID vaccine than it had anticipated. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker also said the state will now only receive "about half" of its expected doses of Pfizer's vaccine, citing federal officials telling state leaders that allotments would be slashed nationwide. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee also tweeted the state's COVID-19 allocation will be cut by 40% next week with no explanation why. "This is disruptive and frustrating. We need accurate, predictable numbers to plan and ensure on-the-ground success," Inslee tweeted. IDPH has not provided a response yet. The Iowa Capital Dispatch is a hard-hitting, independent news organization dedicated to connecting Iowans to their state government and its impact on their lives.