The winter storm disrupted already delayed vaccine logistics, too. Closed roads and offices forced delays in vaccine shipments and providers have had to reschedule both first- and second-dose appointments. LDH officials say that a few days delay on second doses shouldn’t be a problem. Just over a quarter-million people have been fully vaccinated in Louisiana.
Vaccines
The pandemic surfaced deep disparities in access to healthcare, with early data showing a disproportionate impact on the Black community. So far, Louisiana isn’t collecting sufficient data to know whether those disparities are playing out in who gets vaccinated. It’s not just about the logistics of where doses go, either. Health officials speculate that generational distrust of government health programs among Black Americans, seeded by medical experiments conducted by public health agencies, may ward them away. Health equity has become a point of emphasis in public policy — both Louisiana and Lafayette Consolidated Government, for instance, created health equity task forces.
But right now, we don’t have a clear picture of the issue with respect to the vaccine program.
The state started distributing the vaccines to commercial pharmacies for the first time this week — a process several pharmacists described on Monday as chaotic and overwhelming.
In all, only a fraction of the state’s pharmacies will receive any vaccine supply this week at all.
- Vaccines need to be used within six hours of opening a vial
- There are 485,000 people over 70 and 10,500 doses available this week
- 107 pharmacies now carry the vaccine out thousands in the state
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