Winter storms have caused delays in shipping 6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, the White House said last week, according to The Hill.
That's about three days' worth of vaccine shipments, but the government expects to get all delayed doses delivered this week, The Hill reported Feb. 19.
"We will be able to catch up, but we understand this will mean asking more of people," Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser for the White House's COVID-19 response team, told The Hill. "If we all work together, from the factory all the way to the vaccinators, we will make up for it in the coming week."
Delays caused by the winter weather affected vaccine shipments for all 50 states at multiple points in the supply chain. Workers were unable to get to work, and road closures stopped distribution at multiple points, according to The Hill. There were also more than 2,000 vaccination sites in areas without power as of Feb. 19, making them unable to accept the vaccines.
Mr. Slavitt told The Hill that the government is holding vaccines safely in factories rather than shipping them to areas where they may expire due to lack of electricity. He also said the government is planning to open more mass vaccination sites, and all should be open and operating within two weeks, The Hill reported.
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