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Despite administration pledge, there appear to be no more "reserve" second vaccine doses to release
The coronavirus pandemic has brought countries to a standstill. Meanwhile, vaccinations have already started in some countries as cases continue to rise. Follow here for the latest.
www.cnn.com
This seems like it could be a huge problem.
Hopes of a surge in Covid-19 vaccine shipments under a new policy to release second doses held in reserve appear to be evaporating — with the revelation that those doses have already been distributed.
A senior Trump administration official told CNN Friday that when the administration announced that it would be releasing reserved doses last week, many of those reserves had already been released into the system starting last year as production was ramping up.
The revelation seems to contradict what US Health and Human Services secretary announced on Jan. 12 at an Operation Warp Speed briefing, where he said the administration would be “releasing the entire supply for order by states, rather than holding second doses in reserve.”
The official who spoke with CNN pushed back on a report that the second-dose supply was "exhausted," instead characterizing the reserve as a rolling and replenished supply with new production.
The source emphasized that the supply would still benefit from those extra doses already in circulation — but acknowledged that this means there will not be a sudden surge in distribution numbers, as many had been led to believe.
Michael J. Pratt, the chief communications officer for Operation Warp Speed, also denied the notion the reserve was “exhausted” in a statement to CNN.