OLYMPIA, WA- Gov. Jay Inslee says Washington’s allocation of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be cut by 40% next week and other states are also seeing reductions.
In a Tweet, Thursday Gov. Inslee said the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) told Washington about cut back. According to the post, other states are also seeing a similar cut.
“This is disruptive and frustrating. We need accurate, predictable numbers to plan and ensure on-the-ground success,” Inslee wrote. “No explanation was given,” Inslee said.
Pfizer said in a statement Thursday it is not having production issues and that no shipments containing the vaccine are delayed.
During a Thursday news conference, Inslee said he hopes the cuts are due to a “communication glitch,” since Pfizer was reportedly ready with vials.
According to the Department of Health, approximately 60,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived this week in Washington state.
Next week they were expecting 74,100 doses more and 85,800 the week of Dec. 29. But with the new 40% cut, they will only receive 44,460 doses by the end of next week.
The DOH says the first initial round of vaccines will go to high-risk workers in health care settings, high-risk first responders, and residents and staff of nursing homes.
This week, the DOH reported it gave the first round of vaccinations to 39 sites covering 29 counties.
Of those in Eastern Washington, Benton and Yakima counties received 1,950 doses each. Walla Walla and Kittitas counties received 975 doses each.
Franklin County did not make the first roll-out, meaning they may have to wait longer to receive vaccines.
NBC Right Now reached out to the Benton-Franklin Health District as to why Franklin County was not on the list. They said in part the decision was up to the DOH, and they decide who gets the vaccine first.
Before the cut, the DOH had estimated 222,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 180,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine would be in Washington by the end of the month.
Officials say they were hoping to vaccinate around 400,000 people by the end of the month but with the recent cuts, that number may change.
