Feds Cut MA Coronavirus Vaccine Shipment By 20 Percent

MASSACHUSETTS —Officials with the Massachusetts COVID Command Center are trying to get an explanation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about an unexpected, 20 percent cut in the number of doses of the coronavirus vaccine being shipped to the state.

The CDC informed state officials that it was reducing a shipment of 60,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine scheduled for the week of Dec. 21 to about 42,900, a decrease of 28.5 percent. Subsequent shipments will also be reduced: the state now expects to receive 145,000 doses by the end of the month, down from 180,0000.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday the state has not been given an explanation and called the news "frustrating." He said it was too soon to tell what impact, if any, the reduction would have on the state's plan for distributing the vaccine.

The doses are part of the initial U.S. distribution, which will continue into 2021 and will eventually be used to treat the public. Frontline workers who work directly with COVID-19 patients are the first in line to get the vaccine.

Baker said the state still plans to begin vaccinating residents and staff at long term care facilities beginning Dec. 28. Vaccinations are currently being conducted onsite at facilities; the state will open its first vaccination centers in January for first responders.

Other states, including Rhode Island, have also been notified their shipments will be cut. "No clear explanation has been provided," Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said Wednesday after her state was notified it would see a cut in the number of doses being shipped to the state during the week of Dec. 21.

More than half of Massachusetts cities and towns were designated high risk for coronavirus transmission by the Massachusetts Department of Health Thursday. Positive test rates rose in 275 communities.