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The White House may consider allocating vaccine doses to regions based on demand rather than population, a senior aide said Wednesday.
Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to President Biden’s coronavirus response team, said that the administration may start monitoring where there’s a surplus of doses.
“As we vaccinate higher and higher portions of populations, it will make sense for us to continue to watch where vaccines are needed, how vaccines are distributed [and] the best way to reach more people,” Slavitt said at a COVID-19 press briefing.
“And we will be in a situation, unlike the one we’re familiar with over the last couple of months, where we have an abundance of vaccines so I might not think of it as much as shifting as much as I might think of it as making sure that we were putting enough vaccines in all the places that they’re needed.”
Slavitt said there are currently 50,000 vaccine sites throughout the nation, but that number climb to 70,000 next month as more pharmacies start administering the shots.
A person walks by a sign that reads, “The vaccine is our best shot against COVID-19” on the Upper West Side on March 30, 2021. Getty Images“More Americans will get more appointments in more convenient locations,” Slavitt said.
Biden has directed states to expand vaccine eligibility to all adults by May 1.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that more than 147 million doses have been administered so far in the US.
Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to President Biden’s coronavirus response team, said that the administration may start monitoring where there’s a surplus of doses. Star Tribune via Getty Images