Politics

COVID-19 vaccine shipments to states increasing by another million doses

The Biden administration said Tuesday that it’s upping the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses sent to states each week — from 13.5 million doses to 14.5 million.

The White House’s COVID-19 task force made the announcement on Twitter.

The increased vaccine supply comes a week after the White House announced it was boosting the number of weekly doses being shipped out from 11 million to 13.5 million.

So far, the US has distributed more than 82 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

But the vaccine rollout was plagued by shipping problems last week as winter storms across the US created delays.

A FedEx driver carries a box to Colorado Governor Jared Polis so he can sign for delivery of the state's first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, early Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, in Denver.
A FedEx driver carries a box to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis so he can sign for delivery of the state’s first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 14, 2020 in Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Officials have said that vaccine shipments should be back on track by the middle of the week.

“It’s unfortunate that it was a setback, but it’s a temporary setback, and when you just, you know, put your foot to the accelerator and really push, we’ll get it up to where we need to be by the middle of the week,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told “Meet the Press” on Sunday.