The vaccine for COVID-19 was going to be delivered to the United States, but due to the recent winter weather that has affected many states, COVID-19 vaccine deliveries have been delayed and vaccination sites have closed all over the United States. These issues have left 6 million doses of the vaccine undelivered and 2,000 vaccination sites shuttered. 

“If we all work together, from the factory, all the way to the vaccinators, we will make up for it in the coming week. With everybody’s hard work and collective effort, we will be able to catch up, but we understand this will mean asking more of people,” said White House senior adviser Andy Slavitt. 

The impact of the winter weather has caused dangerous driving conditions, so the delivery of the vaccines has been paused. There are power outages in many states such as Texas, Missouri, and Nebraska, so many vaccination sites have also closed. Extreme weather has given UPS, FedEx, and McKesson workers a tough time because they are snowed in, so they can’t package supplies and vaccines.

Pfizer, one of the creators of the COVID-19 vaccine, has announced that it is taking steps to distribute the vaccines again. It has asked the Food and Drug Administration to allow its vaccine to be stored in freezers for up to two weeks, so available vaccines can still be used after delivery. 

“Getting the vaccine and having it available is not the same as putting it in somebody’s arm. This is going to be a continuous rolling effort. If there’s one message to cut through to everyone in the country, it’s this: the vaccines are safe. Take the vaccine when it’s your turn and available. That’s how to beat this pandemic,” said President Joe Biden. 

Los Angeles, specifically, has been facing vaccine shortages because of shipping problems from the winter storms. Because of this, the city has decided that it will open the first COVID-19 mass vaccination sites run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There are also plans to set up five more vaccination sites in both Florida and Pennsylvania.

In conclusion, many people are trying their best to fix the situation at hand: the extreme winter weather has affected the deliveries of the vaccines and multiple power outages. But it seems that companies are working on the deliveries, and the vaccines will all be distributed shortly.

Photo courtesy of ABCNEWS.COM