Last month, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency approval to Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines and according to the CDC, 39% of the roughly 31 million doses distributed so far have made their way to residents.
As the rollout enters its second month, the contrast in efficiency between states has garnered growing attention. Some — like North Dakota and West Virginia — have managed to administer over 70% of their vaccine stockpiles, with Texas and Florida leading the way among larger states, delivering 60.6% and 54.4% of their doses respectively.
Others, meanwhile, have fared far worse — and often for no good reason.
California
Though California received more vaccine doses than any other state, it is performing among the worst at administering them to the public, only managing to distribute 36.7% of its 3.5 million doses.
Part of the problem is attributable to software glitches within the state’s rollout program. The Los Angeles Times reported that the program’s waitlist feature was rife with problems, with one nursing home director confirming, “there are a multitude of issues with this system.”
Other reports suggest the state government has not been transparent about the number of doses given to each provider, further hindering the process of finding and administering unused doses.
As a result, Gov. Gavin Newsom scrambled to expand the number of groups eligible to receive the vaccine in the hopes of achieving a faster rollout.
New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo kicked off his state’s vaccine rollout by enacting massive fines for healthcare providers who administered doses improperly.
He threatened $100,000 penalties for hospitals failing to use all of their allotted doses within seven days, as well as $1 million fines for vaccinating individuals out of New York’s specific order of eligibility, which largely included frontline workers.
“It’s stressful and frustrating to have the vaccine and to be unable to start giving it to our patients as quickly as we would like,” one doctor told The New York Times.
In light of their failure to distribute vaccines promptly, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told states on January 6 that “there is no reason that states need to complete, say, vaccinating all health care providers before opening up vaccinations to older Americans or other especially vulnerable populations.”
Two days after Sec. Azar’s announcement, Gov. Cuomo broadened his list of eligible New Yorkers to include additional frontline workers, as well as individuals aged 75 or older. By that time, however, healthcare providers had already started throwing unused doses in the trash rather than risk crippling fines.
As of today, New York has disbursed 53% of its supply.
Maryland
The state of Maryland has only administered 45.1% of doses to residents.
Instead of listening to Sec. Azar’s recommendations, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan stuck to his previous plans for distribution, which were based upon CDC guidelines.
In addition, Hogan opted to reserve some vaccines for second doses rather than making all doses available as soon as possible, even though the latter is favored by both the Trump and Biden administrations.
Washington
Faring worse than California is Washington state, which has only distributed 34.8% of its doses.
Walgreens and CVS did not begin inoculating until two weeks after the vaccine arrived, as the state’s Department of Health waited weeks before granting the pharmacy chains approval to start vaccinating in long-term care facilities.
To accelerate the vaccination process, Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA) more recently turned to Starbucks and Microsoft for help with the rollout. The Seattle-based corporations will provide 45,000 and 5,000 shots per day, respectively.
Georgia
The state of Georgia has managed to distribute just 39.8% of its more than 1 million vaccines.
Instead of coordinating on a statewide level to expedite appointment signups, Georgians have been forced to call individual pharmacies to try and schedule appointments. In contrast, West Virginians can contact the state government and receive instructions for vaccination based upon which pharmacies presently have doses.
“It’s going to be very hit or miss with respect to each pharmacy and their availability,” one medical professor told a local news station. “You’re going to have to make multiple calls if you want to get your vaccine in earlier.”
Benjamin Zeisloft is Editor-in-Chief of the UPenn Statesmen and a Senior Correspondent for Campus Reform.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.