Maryland officials anticipate a 33% reduction in the coronavirus vaccine doses that the state receives from the federal government over the coming days, but the effect on upcoming vaccinations is uncertain.
State Secretary of Health Dennis Schrader said the counties have been notified that the number of supplied doses will be reduced next week from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, the three vaccine-makers with FDA approval.
The exact cause of the cut in vaccines isn’t clear but is likely related to problems at a manufacturing plant in Baltimore that was producing vaccines for Johnson & Johnson that potentially ruined up to 15 million doses.
Maryland’s supply of J&J doses will be 78,000 fewer than expected next week, with the ripple effect likely resulting in the shifting around of vaccine allocations to fill existing appointments, WTTG-TV (Channel 5) reported.
“There will be across-the-board cuts next week,” said Dr. Earl Stoddard, a Montgomery County Emergency Management official, WTTG reported. “They’ve already told us there will be across-the-board cuts next week to all vaccine recipients, so we just don’t know how severe that’s going to be.”
Gov. Larry Hogan said earlier this week the vaccine reduction caught him off guard because White House had said the supply chain wouldn’t be affected, WTTG, reported.
Local officials say they will know more about the impact of the cutbacks on Friday or Saturday after receiving the allotment from the state.