States Struggle With Vaccine Distribution

The New York Times: New Yorkers Rush To Get Vaccine After Eligibility Expands 
The first of millions of New Yorkers with chronic health conditions lined up to receive the Covid-19 vaccine at sites around the city on Monday, a day after people inundated a state website and call center when they became eligible for the shot. Four million people with conditions like hypertension and obesity can now receive the vaccine in the state, despite a shortage in supply. (Slotnik, 2/15)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania Is Limiting Who Administers The COVID-19 Vaccine. Doctors' Groups Say That's A Mistake
Physician groups say they are “deeply troubled” that the Pennsylvania Department of Health plans to remove primary care providers from the list of those permitted to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. “This is a time when we need all hands on deck so we can get the majority of people vaccinated as quickly as we can,” Tracey Conti, a physician and president of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians, said Saturday night. “When it comes to vaccine distribution, it’s not one size fits all,” she said. “This move may make it more difficult by reducing access and increasing disparity among our most vulnerable citizens.” (Laker, 2/13)

Boston Globe: State Rebuffed Funeral Workers’ Requests For Vaccine Doses, But Offered Them To Office Of The Chief Medical Examiner Staff
The Baker administration came under fire Sunday for offering vaccination appointments to staff at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner last month — after rebuffing calls from lawmakers and other officials asking the state to provide shots to funeral home workers. The vaccination appointments for medical examiner staff, which were described in a pair of January e-mails obtained by the Globe, came from Lisa Riccobene, the agency’s chief administrative officer. “THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY,” Riccobene wrote in an e-mail sent to medical examiner staff on Jan. 19, the second of the two messages reviewed by the Globe. “Once you are given a date and time you must keep the appointment because it will not be rescheduled.” (Hilliard and Stout, 2/14)

Boston Globe: Hospitals Denounce State’s Decision To Shut-Off Vaccine Supply
Hospital leaders and physicians expressed dismay on Friday at the Baker administration’s decision to halt vaccine distribution to hospitals and primary care offices, saying it could undercut efforts to reach minority communities and reluctant patients. But the state’s top health official said that hospitals were scheduling more vaccine appointments than the state could meet with the current level of supplies. “We all need to understand that we have a limited supply,” said Marylou Sudders, secretary of health and human services. (Freyer, Pan and Lazar, 2/12)

KHN: Family Caregivers, Routinely Left Off Vaccine Lists, Worry What Would Happen ‘If I Get Sick’ 
Robin Davidson entered the lobby of Houston Methodist Hospital, where her 89-year-old father, Joe, was being treated for a flare-up of congestive heart failure. Before her stretched a line of people waiting to get covid-19 vaccines. “It was agonizing to know that I couldn’t get in that line,” said Davidson, 50, who is devoted to her father and usually cares for him full time. “If I get sick, what would happen to him?” (Graham, 2/16)

KHN: Anti-Immigrant Vitriol Complicates Vaccine Rollout In Southern States 
In eastern Tennessee, doctors have seen firsthand how a hard-line immigration policy can affect the health and well-being of a community. In 2018, federal agents raided a meatpacking plant in Morristown, a manufacturing hub in the Tennessee Valley, and detained nearly 100 workers they suspected of being in the country illegally. In the weeks that followed, scores of immigrant families who had found work in the meat-processing plants dotting broader Hamblen County scrambled to find sanctuary in churches — and scrupulously avoided seeking medical care. (Varney, 2/16)

KHN: Vaccines Go Mobile To Keep Seniors From Slipping Through The Cracks 
A mobile “strike team” is bringing vaccines to some of Northern California’s most vulnerable residents along with a message: This is how you avoid dying from covid-19.So far, that message has been met with both nervous acceptance and outbursts of joy from a population that has been ravaged by the disease. One 68-year-old pastor, who lives in a racially diverse, low-income senior housing complex, rolled down his sleeve after his shot and said he wants to live to see 70 — just to spite the government. (Bluth, 2/16)

KHN: In Search Of The Shot 
Too little covid vaccine and too great a demand: That’s what KHN readers from around the country detail in their often exasperating quest to snag a shot, although they are often clearly eligible under their local guidelines and priority system. Public health officials say the supply is growing and will meet demand in several months, but, for now, readers’ experiences show how access is limited. Some savvy readers report no problem getting in line for the vaccine, but others say that balky application processes and lack of information have stymied their efforts. Their unedited reports are a good snapshot of the mixed situation around the country. (2/12)

Also —

The Hill: Kansas Says It's Working To Fix Vaccine Reporting Issues 
Kansas officials say they are working to fix issues with the system that reports its vaccination data to the federal government. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) said glitches within the state's reporting system, Kansas WebIZ, were largely responsible for making it appear as though 100,000 doses of the vaccine had not been used even though they had, the Associated Press reported. (Lonas, 2/15)

The Hill: New Jersey Officials Blame Microsoft Glitches For Vaccine Scheduling Issues 
New Jersey officials are blaming Microsoft systems that were supposed to help vaccination efforts for allegedly glitching over the past five weeks, hindering the ability for a smooth vaccination rollout in the state. The state’s Microsoft system for running the vaccination rollout has had issues daily from booking appointments to losing registrations, state government officials told Bloomberg News. (Lonas, 2/12)

Los Angeles Times: Dodger Stadium COVID Vaccine Site To Reopen For 2nd Doses 
Dodger Stadium and several other COVID-19 vaccination sites that were shuttered last week due to shortages are set to reopen Tuesday, though continuing supply problems mean the vast majority of shots administered will be second doses, Los Angeles officials said. People vaccinated in mid-January were automatically slotted into appointments for most of the city’s anticipated weekly supply of 54,000 Moderna doses and 4,000 Pfizer doses, a prioritization that the city said complied with directives by county and federal health officials. (Ryan, 2/15)