OLYMPIA, Wash. — Calling it "disruptive and frustrating," Gov. Jay Inslee says Washington state's coronavirus vaccine allocation is being cut by 40% next week.
"We need accurate, predictable numbers to plan and ensure on-the-ground success," Inslee tweeted. He added, "No explanation was given."
According to Inslee, Washington officials were alerted to the cut by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All states are seeing similar cuts, according to Inslee.
Pfizer said in a statement Thursday it is not having production issues and that no shipments containing the vaccine are delayed.
"This week, we successfully shipped all 2.9 million doses that we were asked to ship by the U.S. Government to the locations specified by them," the Pfizer statement reads. "We have millions more doses sitting in our warehouse but, as of now, we have not received any shipment instructions for additional doses."
During a Thursday news conference, Inslee said he hopes the cuts are due to a "communication glitch," since Pfizer was reportedly ready with vials.
"The good news is there’s no indication of a systemic long-term problem," Inslee said.
Approximately 60,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived this week.
Another 160,000 were expected by the end of the month. However, during the news conference, state Secretary of Health John Wiesman said the state wasn't able to confirm those doses through the end of the month anymore and moving forward would likely give estimates only for the following week.
Next week Washington is expected to receive 44,850 doses of the Pfizer vaccine with the reduction in place, according to Wiesman.
An FDA advisory panel gave the green light Thursday to a second COVID-19 vaccine by Moderna, and that vaccine is now awaiting FDA approval. Wiesman said the state anticipates 128,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine for the next week if it's approved.
The first group that will receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Washington will be high-risk health care workers and also “folks in long-term care settings,” said Wiesman.