Alaska vaccine shipments delayed by harsh winter conditions in Lower 48

The winter weather that caused major disruption in parts of Lower 48 this week also delayed COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Alaska, leading to the cancellation of some appointments, officials said Thursday. the state.

At least 21 vaccine shipments to Alaska have been delayed this week “due to bad weather,” said Matt Bobo, the state’s immunization official. Officials later said the delay affected around 3,000 doses of the vaccine, although it is not immediately clear which communities the doses were intended for.

State health officials said the delay was large enough that some Alaskans would receive calls from providers saying their vaccine appointments for this week were to be rescheduled until next week, after arrival. new vaccines.

The winter storms that hit Lower 48 left millions of people without power, put drinking water systems in jeopardy and have been blamed for the deaths of more than 40 people. States across the country – such as Texas, Alabama, Missouri, and Hawaii – also saw vaccine disruptions this week, with inclement weather contributing to deteriorating road conditions, surging deliveries and cancellation of vaccination clinics.

Kelsey Pistonick, a public health adviser with the Alaska Vaccination Program, said at a press briefing Thursday that the impact could have been much worse if the delay had occurred earlier in the month, when most of the vaccines from Alaska have arrived.

Alaska is unique from other states in that it is assigned vaccines on a monthly rather than weekly basis, which means the state can order more vaccines at a time. Alaska received 59,600 first doses of vaccine for the month of February.

“It’s obviously very unfortunate that people have to postpone because we’ve delayed deliveries, but it’s actually a pretty great week for that to happen in Alaska because it’s a slow shipping week for us.” , she said.

Bobo said suppliers have been made aware of delayed shipments and that his team is working with them to ensure that any canceled appointments can be rescheduled.

“We have been in communication with the White House, the federal government and the CDC to make sure that we are going to get over the backlog,” he said.