Cities and states begin delaying Covid-19 vaccine distribution because of winter storms

Vaccine distribution in states and cities across the US are slowing down because of winter storms that have left more than a third of the continental US with below-zero temperatures Monday.

The severe winter weather sparked emergency declarations in at least seven states, including Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas.

Here are the localities and states that have delayed or postponed vaccine distribution so far:

Texas

San Antonio

The city postponed vaccine appointments scheduled to take place Tuesday at the Alamodome until Saturday due to the storm, according to a news release from the city.

This is the second straight day San Antonio has postponed vaccinations at the venue. Over the weekend, the city made the decision to move Monday’s appointments to Friday.

“With the current icy conditions expected to remain until at least tomorrow, we want to ensure the safety of the public. We also want to remind the public who may be concerned about the small delay for their second dose, that we are still within CDC guidelines to ensure the vaccine will still work with no issues,” the release stated.

Corpus Christi

No first-dose vaccines are being shipped to Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District Monday and Tuesday due to winter weather, according to a news release from the city.

Both agencies received the word from the state Monday.

The soonest a new shipment may come will be Wednesday, according to the news release.

Harris County

The winter storm cut power to the Harris County Public Health Department building around 2 a.m . Monday morning and the backup generator also failed, putting over 8,400 coronavirus vaccines in jeopardy of spoiling, Harris County Judge Lena Hidalgo said Monday afternoon.

Officials quickly put a plan together to allocate and salvage the vaccines, Hidalgo said.

Harris County officials settled on Houston’s Ben Taub, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Methodist Hospitals, as well as Rice University and the Harris County Jail as the locations to receive the vaccine overnight, Hidalgo said.

Nevada

The Nevada Health Response (NHR) tweeted Monday the state may experience a delay in deliveries this week due to the powerful storms.

The state received word the disruption could occur and it is working with the health districts and pharmacies that may be affected.

“We ask Nevadans to continue to be patient at this time,” the tweet read.

Missouri

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Monday the state canceled all of its mass vaccination events scheduled for February 15-19 because of the extreme winter weather, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

“Missouri is experiencing severe winter weather that makes driving dangerous and threatens the health and safety of anyone exposed to the cold. These conditions will also likely delay some vaccine shipments,” Parson said. “We want to protect the safety of everyone involved in the mass vaccination events, from the patients being vaccinated to the volunteers who generously support these events.”

To protect doses, arriving vaccine shipments for this week’s mass vaccinations events will stay in the nine Missouri State Highway Patrol regions across the state and be redistributed to community hospitals with emergency generators.

Those hospitals will be allowed to administer the vaccine to those currently eligible, according to the release. Second doses that were scheduled to be administered during the mass vaccination program will be retained in the region and administered “as promptly as possible.”