U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and Sen. Chris Coons (both D-Del.) joined Senate Democrats in a joint letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar demanding the Trump administration take immediate action to fix what they described as failures of the Covid-19 vaccine distribution.
In the letter, the senators call out the administration’s failure to develop and implement a comprehensive national vaccine plan, despite having months to do so. The incoming Biden administration has also complained about a lack of a plan after vowing to push out 100 million vaccinations.
Senate Democrats wrote that a plan must include guidance and best practices on taking the vaccine from distribution to administration, provide all necessary resources to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and other jurisdictions, account for the challenge jurisdictions face in scaling up their workforces and act to ensure vaccine distribution efforts also combat health inequities.
They also called for the administration to launch a massive campaign to promote vaccine confidence and help people understand where, when and how to get vaccinated.
In addition to Carper and Coons, the letter was signed by senators in the region, including Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).
President Donald Trump has claimed that vaccines supplies are being delivered, with the states not following through.
The Centers for Disease Control dashboard indicates that about 35 percent of vaccine supplies in Delaware and nationwide have been administered. The CDC dashboard reported The CDC reports that Delaware has distributed 25,708 doses.
The federal government has been holding back vacine doses, claiming the inventory is needed to ensure that second doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are available. States have been doing the same on conerns that shipments of the second dose have been lower than forecast.
