US states begin to prioritize more people for the coronavirus vaccination

The pace at which the US coronavirus vaccine has been administered to its citizens has been very sluggish. This has led states-eager to move more doses—to vaccinate more than health care workers and nursing home residents initially at the front of the line.

US government has failed to reach its coronavirus vaccination target

About 30.7%-5.3 million out of the 17.3 million doses distributed—have been administered in the United States, a number which is lower than the target set by the Trump administration, which involved administering 20 million vaccines to Americans by the end of 2020. This has led many states to take matters into their own hands.

In Montana on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Gianforte shifted some Covid-19 vaccination policies “effective immediately” to include people 70 and older, and those between the ages of 16 to 69 with specific conditions.

“We cannot have vaccines sitting on the shelf,” he said.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has warned hospitals that if they aren’t distributing the vaccine quickly enough, they may lose additional allotments. The state has expanded vaccinations to seniors over the age of 65. As a result of this new directive, one location in Daytona Beach reached capacity two hours before the doors even opened.

Trump administration encourages states to make decisions concerning the vaccination rollout

On Monday, Trump officials encouraged states to expand vaccine availability to pharmacies and allow more people to get their shots.

US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams urged states to quickly move on to additional priority groups.

“States all across the country feel beholden to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices guidelines to vaccinate everyone in group 1a before they move to 1b and beyond and what I want people to know is these are guidelines,” Adams said.

“If the demand isn’t there in one location, move those vaccines to another location,” Adams added.