Gov. Brown ‘shocked and appalled’ to learn Oregon won’t receive expected additional COVID-19 vaccine doses next week from federal government
Click here for updates on this story
PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — Gov. Kate Brown announced Friday morning what she called “disturbing news” — Oregon will not receive expected additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine next week.
In a series of tweets, Brown said the update on vaccine distribution was confirmed to her by General Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed, who she said told her that “states will not be receiving increased shipments of vaccines from the national stockpile next week, because there is no federal reserve of doses.”
“This is a deception on a national scale. Oregon’s seniors, teachers, all of us, were depending on the promise of Oregon’s share of the federal reserve of vaccines being released to us,” Brown tweeted.
Just this week, Brown announced expansion plans for vaccinating people 65 and older, as well as childcare providers, early learning, K-12 educators and staff. That was expected to begin Jan. 23.
In a letter to U.S. DHS Secretary Alex Azar, Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen said if the information about the federal reserve is true, then the state will not be able to begin the expansion as planned.
The news will also likely affect the governor’s goal of ensuring 12,000 vaccinations a day.
On Thursday, the Oregon Health Authority says that goal was met on Jan. 8 when providers administered 12,039 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
