MA's Coronavirus Vaccine Shipment Not Coming This Week

This week's shipment of coronavirus vaccine doses from the federal government has been delayed and won't arrive until Monday, a potential problem for those even with vaccination appointments.

The state's Coronavirus Command Center said the winter weather and staffing shortages for vaccine manufacturers are contributing to the delay.

The state is working with providers and vaccine sites to gauge the impact of the delay, but people with appointments are encouraged to go unless they hear otherwise. The state will reallocate vaccine doses from one site to another if necessary.

"Governor [Charlie] Baker reached out directly to federal officials upon learning of the delay to offer any assistance the Commonwealth could provide to avoid this disruption," the Command Center said. "The Administration is imploring the federal government to do everything in its power to rectify the delay immediately."

Baker said earlier Thursday he may send the National Guard to retrieve vaccines from Kentucky and Tennessee.

Baker told the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce the state could see a "significant delay" in getting vaccine doses if the National Guard doesn't get them from the southern states where the vaccine is being manufactured.

"We may have some real issues with supply delivery this week," Baker said in the morning. "We were told it may be a few days late, but we were told last night we may see a significant delay in our next shipments."

Baker said the state was waiting on the federal government's go-ahead to send the Guard.

The delay is the latest in a string of bad vaccination news for Massachusetts. The vaccination appointment website buckled under the pressure of scores of newly eligible people looking to book a slot, crashing Thursday morning and leaving already frustrated residents — many of them older — searching for answers.

"My hair's on fire about the whole thing," Gov. Charlie Baker told GBH's Boston Public Radio. "I can't even begin to tell you how pissed off I am."

State lawmakers are holding an oversight hearing Feb. 25.

Materials from State House News Service were used in this report