COVID-19 Vaccine Update 1/5/21
"Vaccine Update: Alabama has had COVID-19 vaccine in our state for three weeks. As of January 4, there have been 42,810 vaccine doses administered out of our initial allocation of 226,250 doses. We understand everyone is anxious and has questions about the speed of getting the new COVID-19 vaccines administered. There are several factors that determine how fast we are able to get the vaccine in arms.
Only 15 entities were able to vaccinate the first week due to Pfizer requiring ultra cold storage. More entities were able to vaccinate the second week using the Moderna vaccine which only requires a regular vaccine freezer. The third week, county health departments came on board as vaccinators. Also, the second and third weeks were holiday weeks. Some people who will take vaccine were waiting until after holidays. Hospitals and other entities have to administer doses with a staggered manner to be able to cover any staff outage.
Giving the COVID-19 vaccine is a more complex process than a regular vaccine, including additional required screening and consent information, different handling requirements of product, and necessary observation period post vaccine. With a full week ahead and continuing into Phase 1a, we expect more vaccine to be administered."