The U.S. Doesn't Have Vaccine Stockpiles of COVID-19
The Claim
The U.S. has COVID-19 vaccines in reserve.
News posted on
Emerging story
The Trump administration has announced that it will stop holding COVID-19 vaccines in reserve. However, some are uncertain if a stockpile of reserved vaccines exists.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has discovered that when Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that the federal government would begin releasing coronavirus vaccine doses held in reserve for second shots, no such reserve existed according to the Inquirer.com. The Trump administration had already begun shipping out what was available beginning at the end of December, taking second doses directly off the manufacturing line.
According to CNN.com, when Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was asked whether there is in fact a reserve of second doses left to release, he said, "No. There's not a reserve stockpile. We now have enough confidence that our ongoing production will be quality and available to provide the second dose for people, so we're not sitting on a reserve anymore. We've made that available to the states to order."
According to the JerusalemPost.com, CNN reported that Azar had resigned from his position, citing last week's attack on the Capitol as the main reason. However, Azar put his letter of resignation in with other officials as a result of the upcoming change in administration.
