Where is the f…ing vaccine?
Supposedly the Trump Administration bought 300 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine awhile back before it was approved for distribution. That was a couple of months ago when everyone was excited about Operation Warp Speed.
Like a lot of Trump promises, the reality didn’t match the hype.
Supposedly, 45 million doses have been distributed in the U.S. and about half of those doses have been administered.
At this rate, it will take about 3 years to innoculate everyone. Meanwhile, the coronavirus is mutating into different strains, all of which appear to be more contagious and more lethal.
No bueno.
Only one person that I know in this city of 15,000 senior citizens has received a Covid-19 vaccination: my hiking buddy Lloyd. He was able to get it from the Veterans’ Administration in Las Vegas. It’s one of the few “benefits” he’s received for acquiring PTSD in Vietnam.
Here in town (Mesquite, Nevada) no one knows anything about when, where, and how we will be able to get innoculated. We’ve heard that the city will be setting up a vaccination center at a defunct hotel and we’ve also heard that our local Walgreens Pharmacy will eventually have vaccines. But, thus far…nada.
I remember very clearly the “60 Minutes” segment maybe 4 months ago when Army General Gustave Perna, the guy in charge of Operation Warp Speed, confidently explained the logistical side of distributing the vaccine when it became available. “We’ve got this!”, he bragged.
All of the sudden, the vaccine becomes available and …the Three Stooges are in charge! What happened?
It appears that the fly in the ointment is that the Operation Warp Speed plan was complicated by the fact that each of the States has a role in the vaccination plan, and each State is doing it a bit differently. Some are distributing and vaccinating according to strict criteria and others (like Florida) have basically said, “First come, first served”. Some States are holding back half of their supply for booster shots, and others are not.
And none of the State have enough of the precious vaccine.
New President Joe Biden has promised to unravel this Gordian Knot and speed up the distribution and inoculation processes.
I hope his Administration, which has made this logistical Mt. Everest its highest priority, can deliver because about 90,000 Americans are dying per month right now from Covid-19. At this rate, the death toll could reach 1 million by Summer.
Right about the time when the vaccine will be available here in Mesquite.