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- Thousands of first-dose COVID-19 vaccine appointments have been canceled due to state shortages of supply.
- According to the CDC, 16 million doses have been administered in the US as of Wednesday.
- President Biden is already facing pressure to fix the country’s unsuccessful inoculation efforts.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Multiple states have reported they are running out of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, resulting in the cancellation of tens of thousands of scheduled first-dose appointments, according to a new report from the Associated Press.
Barely a month after vaccines first became available in the US, states are facing frustrating supply shortages for seemingly no discernible reason, at the same time that the federal government is directing them to ramp up their vaccine rollouts, the AP reported.
The reason for the widespread shortage of state supplies remains unclear as less than half of the 36 million doses that the federal government has distributed to states so far have actually been administered, according to the CDC. Recordkeeping delays and other logistical issues at the local level could be partially responsible for the gap.
In a statement to the AP, the Department of Health and Human Services said there was actually a 5% increase in vaccine allocations this week compared to previous weeks.
At a press conference Wednesday morning, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York City has had to cancel 23,000 appointments just this week because of the shortage, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he thinks the state will run out in a few days, according to the AP.
Mayor de Blasio did say that if the city was allowed to use the 65,000 vaccine doses that are being reserved for second doses, the cancelled appointments could be rescheduled, according to Spectrum News.
States and cities all across the country are struggling with inadequate supply of the vaccine even as COVID-19 case counts and deaths continue to rise in many places.
The Miami area and San Francisco have both reportedly had to cancel appointments. The Erie County Health Department told the AP it's had to scratch vaccinations for more than 8,000 people due to not having enough supply. Lawmakers in Hawaii said they expect to receive only about half the amount of doses they did last week, and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has already begged the Biden administration for more doses.
"We are not lacking the infrastructure. We are lacking the vaccine." DeWine said in a letter to the Biden Administration, a copy of which was seen by Cleveland.com.
In West Virginia, which has been home to one of the fastest vaccine rollouts thus far, officials said they didn't receive an increased number of doses this week, despite having already administered 99% of the first doses they had, the AP reported.
"Here we are with no vaccines," Governor Jim Justice told the AP. "We've got them all in people's arms, and we've done exactly what we should have done...I think performance ought to be rewarded."
Read more: Why America's vaccine rollout was a total disaster - and what it means for the next few months
On President Biden's first day in office, he is already facing pressure to correct the chaos of the country's unsuccessful inoculation efforts. In order to keep his promise of vaccinating 100 million people in his first 100 days, the process will have to speed up.
According to the CDC, 16 million doses have been administered in the US as of Wednesday.
