The White House on Friday said that about 6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine were currently delayed due to weather. Andy Slavitt, White House COVID-19 advisor, said that all 50 states have been impacted by the delays.
“The 6 million doses represents about three days of delayed shipping,” he said, adding that many states have been able to make up for it with existing inventory.
Road closures, power outages and snow accumulation have contributed to the delays.
TEXAS NOW GRAPPLES WITH WATER CRISIS AS POWER RETURNS TO NEARLY 2 MILLION HOMES
“More than 2,000 vaccine sites are located in areas with power outages, so they’re currently unable to receive doses,” he said.
Due to cold chain concerns, officials do not want to ship to the vaccines to the locations with power issues because they could potentially expire.
Slavitt said that officials are working to clear the backlog as the weather improves. As of Friday, about 1.4 million of the 6 million doses were already in transit.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
“We anticipate all the backlogged doses will be delivered next week, with most being delivered within the next several days.
