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General Gustave Perna, one of the officials leading the U.S. vaccine rollout, says they will "allocate" 7.9 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines across the U.S. this week.
(It's possible that means 3.95m doses shipped now, and the other half withheld for 2nd doses.)
(It's possible that means 3.95m doses shipped now, and the other half withheld for 2nd doses.)
Perna is solo -- he's otherwise appeared with Azar and Slaoui.
He's giving a mea culpa and saying that they didn't get as much vaccine as they thought, and thus shipments were smaller.
"To the governors, to the governors' staff, please accept my personal apology," he says.
He's giving a mea culpa and saying that they didn't get as much vaccine as they thought, and thus shipments were smaller.
"To the governors, to the governors' staff, please accept my personal apology," he says.
So it's the Army guy who has come out to eat a bit of crow -- not the Secretary. (Whether that's simply by circumstance or is by design, I don't know.)
I can report that Perna really likes football metaphors.
"When I failed -- I failed, nobody else failed," he says, about a gap in how many they said they'd be able to send vs. how many went out.
"There is no problem with the process, there is no problem with the Pfizer vaccine," he says. "It was a planning error and I am responsible."
"There is no problem with the process, there is no problem with the Pfizer vaccine," he says. "It was a planning error and I am responsible."
Background, from @jtozz and @angelicalavito: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-18/u-s-states-say-they-re-getting-less-covid-vaccine-than-expected
Update: the 7.9 million is first doses ready to ship over the next week, and does not include second doses that are held back.
It's 5.9 million available from Moderna and another 2 million from Pfizer.
(That would bring the 2 week total of first doses to about 11 million.)
It's 5.9 million available from Moderna and another 2 million from Pfizer.
(That would bring the 2 week total of first doses to about 11 million.)