States Struggle to Save Unused Vaccines
The vast majority of COVID-19 vaccines have gone straight from drug companies to affluent countries such as the United States. Worldwide only about 1% have made it to low-income countries.
And here’s what’s happening all across the United States: Millions of vaccine doses at risk of spoiling are sitting on freezer shelves, with no easy way to get them to countries desperately waiting for shots.
In North Carolina, for example, more than half a million Pfizer shots are set to expire by the end of August. Alabama just threw away 65,000 doses. Last month, Arkansas tossed 80,000.
State health officials warn the current demand for the vaccine may not be enough to get much of the supply into arms before they reach their expiration dates.
It’s a stark reminder of the chasm between the COVID-19 vaccine haves and have-nots.
