West Virginia, Only State to Avoid Walgreens, CVS, Leads COVID Vaccine Rates in United States

As states in the United States continue to report delays in their efforts to vaccinate residents most vulnerable to coronavirus infection, West Virginia has administered nearly all of the immunization doses received so far under of the federal government’s distribution initiative.

Since the initial vaccine shipments began moving to the states last month, West Virginia has administered about 98% of its first vaccination doses and 80% of its second round injections, according to updated data. Sunday by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. The two COVID-19 vaccines currently approved for emergency use in the United States, developed by Pfizer and Moderna, require two installments in order to effectively protect against the new respiratory disease.

West Virginia’s overall vaccination rates are the highest in the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which tracks the progress of ongoing immunizations across the country, reported that West Virginia administered more COVID-19 vaccines per capita than any other U.S. state as of Friday morning. The health agency’s dashboard indicates that more than 200,000 vaccines have been distributed to the state by federal officials. West Virginia’s own tally indicated that she had received about 50,000 fewer doses.

In accordance with recommendations established by the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, states are distributing preliminary vaccine doses to high-risk health workers, as well as residents and staff of health-care facilities. long duration. West Virginia was the only US state that did not opt ​​for a federal partnership in shifting responsibility for administering the vaccine in long-term care facilities to CVS and Walgreens pharmacies.

Through this partnership, launched in the third week of December, pharmacy workers administer vaccines to residents and on-site staff at 75,000 facilities enrolled in the program. The initiative aimed to relieve the pressure on long-term care facilities to manage the administration of vaccines themselves. However, bureaucratic hurdles led to significant delays and reduced accessibility. About 1.4 million residents and staff in long-term care facilities had received doses of the vaccine by Friday morning, according to the CDC.

Instead, West Virginia has mobilized local pharmacies and health departments to speed up the rollout of its vaccine statewide. State Governor Jim Justice cited this approach in recent comments on West Virginia’s vaccination program and its effectiveness compared to other states. The federal government, in general, has been criticized for what many see as a lack of sufficient guidance to aid state vaccine administration efforts.

“Really, really, there are so many people who depend on their local health departments, their local pharmacies,” Justice said during an appearance on CBS News’ Face the nation Sunday morning. Speaking to moderator Margaret Brennan, the governor explained why West Virginia’s decision to bypass the federal pharmacy initiative – and the bureaucracy that came with it – helped speed up its vaccine rollout.

“A lot of governors sat with their arms folded, trying to come up with a system or a formula of what they were going to do. We didn’t just sit back. I mean, we acted,” he continued. “We brought our local pharmacies, we brought our local health services, we brought our national guard and we started giving injections into people’s arms.”

Newsweek contacted the justice office for further comment, but did not receive a response in time for the publication.