Buffalo, NY (WBEN) It seems that everyone is pointing a finger as supply issues are clearly in issue when it comes to the distribution of the COVID vaccine.
Coronavirus vaccine supply is down to a few days, says New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. But a Buffalo area pharmacist says supply will improve to try and meet demand as more vaccine makers' doses get federal approval.
Don Arthur of Brighton-Eggert Pharmacy says at first the vaccine rollout was going well. "I was watching closely how the federal government was moving vaccines to the state, and the state was moving them to the county. It seemed to be working quite well," says Arthur.
But recently, he says it's been frustrating. "We've received 7,000 phone calls and Governor Cuomo said pharmacies would not be vaccinating. Two weeks ago, we signed a memorandum of understanding where we could vaccinate just those 75 and older. Then the CDC changed that to 65 and older," says Arthur. The frustrating part is the state network has a complicated protocol for pre-booking. He says he pre-booked 1,500 vaccines two weeks ago. "Our first allocation we received zero. We again pre-booked 1.500 does of the Moderna vaccine, and we learned we'll get zero," explains Arthur.
Arthur says demand is high for the vaccine. "The annual flu vaccine numbers come in between 45 and 48 percent of Americans receive it. The CDC says we need to get to 70 percent to get past COVID. The lack of supply is creating demand. People are more anxious to get the vaccine. I think it's expanding the demand is a good thing," says Arthur. But he doesn't have an answer as to why supply is so low.
New York State is taking a "week to week" approach on vaccinating state residents due to ongoing issues of supply, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. Cuomo told distributors, "Don't schedule an appointment unless you know your allocation for the next week, otherwise you have to cancel the appointments."
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But Arthur is optimistic supply will ramp up. "Johnson and Johnson's vaccine is to be in front of the FDA in February, and based on what I've read, they should get the EUA authorization, making one more manufacturer availabe, that's a good thing," says Arthur. He hopes Pfizer and Moderna will increase production. "The Pfizer vaccine with the minus 50 degree storage requirements, you won't see that at community pharmacies because they don't just have the equipment to store," says Arthur. But the Moderna vaccines come frozen and can be stored in freezers.
By that, time he hopes to vaccinate 250 to 500 people per day. He urges for patience for those wanting to get the vaccine, and check with other pharmacies. "I hope the situation will change where in the coming weeks, we can vaccinate those on the 1A and 1B list," says Arthur.
