ER doc questions wisdom of Biden plan to speed release of COVID vaccines

With COVID-19 surging and vaccinations off to a slow start, President-elect Joe Biden will rapidly release most available vaccine doses to protect more people, his office said Friday, a reversal of Trump administration policies.

“The president-elect believes we must accelerate distribution of the vaccine while continuing to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible," spokesman T.J. Ducklo said in a statement. Biden “supports releasing available doses immediately, and believes the government should stop holding back vaccine supply so we can get more shots in Americans’ arms now.”

Biden’s plan is not about cutting two-dose vaccines in half, a strategy that top government scientists recommend against. Instead, it would accelerate shipment of first doses and use the levers of government power to provide required second doses in a timely manner.

The Trump administration has been holding back millions of doses of vaccine to guarantee that people can get a second shot, which provides maximum protection against COVID-19. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require a second shot after the first vaccination.

Dr. Michael Zappa, chief of emergency services at Cape Fear Valley Health, said the decision gives him pause. He doesn't think availability is the key to accelerating how many people get vaccinated.

"Over the past month, the feds have released over 20 million doses. Yet, nationwide, we’ve only administered 6 million," Zappa said. "The problem is not that doses haven’t been released. The problem is, we don’t have an effective method of vaccination."

He would like to see a more comprehensive federal strategy for the vaccination process across the country.

"What you’re asking is an already stressed system take on this extra work in the middle of a pandemic," he said, noting that county health departments often have minimal staff and limited budgets.

"We need the extra bodies and a mechanism to administer the vaccines and get them out to the public quicker," he said.

"To me, it is shocking that as a nation we have not figured out how to make this an operation that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week and gets all of the doses available out to our public."

Zappa also worries that a mass vaccination effort now will mean fewer second doses available when people need them. If the second dose is missed, Zappa said, "We will have almost wasted the first one."

Biden said in a speech last week that he intends to speed up vaccinations by having the federal government take a stronger role to make sure that vaccines are not only available, but that shots are going into the arms of more Americans.

“The Trump administration plan to distribute vaccines is falling behind—far behind,” Biden said. “If it continues to move as it is now, it’s going to take years, not months, to vaccinate the American people.”

The American Hospital Association estimates that the nation would need to vaccinate 1.8 million people a day, every day, from Jan. 1 to May 31, to reach the goal of having widespread immunity by the summer. That's also called “herd immunity” and would involve vaccinating at least 75% of the population.