Operation Warp Speed immediately hit a snag just days into Pfizer distributing doses of the COVID-19 vaccine across the country. It is no surprise that the Trump administration would bungle the distribution pipeline.
Governors across the country were frustrated that the number of doses they expected was cut by nearly half in some cases, and they were left in the dark as to why for several days until a federal official took responsibility on Saturday December 19, 2020.
For several days governors tried to get answers about the distributions shortfalls. Lack of clarity from the federal government represented a huge headache for states as they scrambled to adjust their vaccination programs. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Tuesday December 15, 2020 that Florida could receive less than the 452,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine that the state was expecting because of a “production issue” on the part of a vaccine manufacturer. DeSantis said that two shipments of the vaccine slated to be sent to Florida in the coming weeks are “on hold right now.” Though the Governor pointed a finger of blame at Pfizer, the blame seems to rest on the Federal Government. Pfizer immediately sent out a statement contradicting the Governor. “This week, we successfully shipped all 2.9 million doses that we were asked to ship by the U.S. Government to the locations specified by them,” Pfizer said in an official statement. “We have millions more doses sitting in our warehouse but, as of now, we have not received any shipment instructions for additional doses.” Both sides have been accused of using the media to negotiate, and fingers have been pointed, in every direction.
Operation Warp Speed chief operating officer, Army General Gustave Perna, said that he overestimated the number of vaccine doses that will be available to states next week. Originally, the number was 7.3 million, but Perna now says only 4.3 million doses will be available. “It was a planning error, and I am responsible,” Army General Gustave Perna said, according to Politico. “We’re learning from it. We’re trying to get better.” Perna said the numbers differ because he failed to account for the time required to get all of the vaccine doses approved by the FDA to be distributed.
Pfizer’s vaccine requires the patient to be injected with two doses taken 21 days apart. Putting aside so many doses for second shots adds to the logistical nightmare of distribution. Florida was supposed to submit a detailed plan to the federal government about its strategy by Dec. 4, 2020 but that plan has not been made public despite numerous requests from news organizations. For now the Trump administration has basically decided to pass daunting task of distributing vaccines to individual states, a strategy it used to address the pandemic this spring that led to disastrous results. Distribution will likely continue to be a confused mess until the Joe Biden administration can begin starting January 20, 2021. Biden’s team appears to be regularly meeting with pharmaceutical executives without the Trump administration.