More than 10 million vaccines have been distributed.
Some four million Americans have received one of the new COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. officials say.
“Already four million Americans have rolled up their sleeves,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told reporters during a briefing this week.
More than 10 million vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have been shipped to various locations, including pharmacies, according to CDC officials.
About 56.5 million people, or 17 percent of the population, received one of the bivalent vaccines, which were available from the fall of 2022 until recently, according to CDC data. The shots mostly went to people aged 65 and older.
Some people have reported struggling to find doses of the new vaccines at their local pharmacies and doctors.
Jen Kates, a senior vice president at KFF, said on X in late September that her vaccine appointment was canceled because the pharmacy at which it was scheduled did not have enough vaccines.
Others were able to find a shot but were charged more than $100. Insurers and government insurance were supposed to cover shots for the insured, while people without insurance can still receive one without paying under the CDC’s Bridge Access Program.
“The Biden-Harris Administration, through HHS, has been working directly with manufacturers and distributors to ensure that the vaccines are getting to pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and other vaccination sites, including long-term care facilities as quickly as possible,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the CDC, told Reuters.
Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC’s deputy director, said the agency is aware that people have gone to receive a vaccine, or taken their child to receive one, and that there were not any available.
“My message for folks who have had that experience is twofold. The first is, please don’t give up on the vaccine. Please know that vaccine is available,” he said. “And … more and more vaccine is getting out there every single day, every single week. And so please check back in with your provider with your pharmacist, because it’s likely if they didn’t have vaccine two weeks ago, they will have it.”
CDC officials said they tried to cut down on barriers in the supply chain to quicken the delivery of doses. Distribution has shifted to businesses instead of the government, which helmed the network for prior versions of the vaccines.
By Zachary Stieber
