Vaccine Situation in a Mess
The Claim
As Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is being shipped across the United States, it has hit some road bumps in distribution.
News posted on
Emerging story
The outrage was sparked on social media when Pfizer alerted the public that millions of COVID-19 vaccines were sitting in warehouses, awaiting shipping orders from the government.
Some users have speculated that the vaccine delay is a result of the federal government favoring Moderna’s upcoming vaccine, speculating on a bias on the part of government officials due to the company being fully funded in Operation Warp Speed, and possibly due to alleged private interests and insider trading.
Misbar’s Analysis
Overall, the vaccine situation appears to be something of a mess, to say the least. Confusion has been sparked over the number of vaccines that have been ordered by the U.S. government, having been significantly cut from the original amount.
The news of vaccine delays has also come in contrast to the discovery that vaccine bottles contain more doses than anticipated, but obviously, this won’t do much good if the vaccine bottles themselves are unavailable. It’s also worth keeping in mind that the vaccine will require multiple administrations to take effect.
Fingers are being pointed in and from all directions: at Pfizer, at the CDC, at the Trump Administration, etc. It’s clear that no one wants to take responsibility for this obvious lack of planning and foresight on at least one party's part. However, the longer the squabbling takes place, the more the vaccine will be delayed, and the pandemic will continue. We at Misbar will continue to track this tumultuous situation as it develops, and we will take note of any additional hurdles with the COVID-19 vaccine.
