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Alabama state health official Dr Scott Harris said today that Alabama will receive an additional 10,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna for each of the next three weeks.
This is in addition to what the condition usually receives, which is about 50,000 to 60,000 for the first doses and usually about 60,000 for the second doses.
Harris said he planned to announce his intention to use the additional doses on Friday.
“We were very pleased to learn that Alabama is receiving, at least for the next three weeks, approximately 10,000 additional doses of Moderna,” Harris said. “So we will try to deploy them as quickly as possible on a large scale.”
Harris spoke with lawmakers in Montgomery today during a budget hearing in preparation for the legislative session, which begins Tuesday.
Harris said the vaccine supply was still well below needs. Alabama is giving vaccines to healthcare workers, people over 75 and first responders. Harris did not say when eligibility would be extended to the next group, which would include people aged 65 to 74.
Harris said he would give an update on this and more information on the vaccine rollout at a press briefing on Friday.
There are approximately 700,000 people eligible for photos in Alabama now. Harris said the 65 to 74 age group will add at least several hundred thousand. The amount of doses needed is double the eligible population because Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two injections.
“We are now working to try to determine if there is sufficient capacity to handle this,” Harris said. “We don’t have a lot of extra vaccines, but there may be a few.
“I think the most important message to get people is that just hearing that you are eligible doesn’t mean there is a vaccine for you. And if you really are not a high risk person, if you are a younger, healthier person who has the ability to stay home and not go out in public, please wait. Please let someone else walk past you online, someone who needs it the most.
Related: COVID-19 Variant First Found In Alabama: What You Need To Know
4,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Alabama ‘displaced’ by health officials
This story was corrected at 2:44 p.m. to say that the state receives the vaccine for the second doses in addition to the 50,000 to 60,000 per week for the first doses.
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