State Says Weather Is Affecting Vaccine Deliveries

State health officials say the bad weather is slowing the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to Nebraska. The state was to have received more than 30,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines this week, but so far, that hasn’t happened.

“The majority of the vaccine has not arrived in the state as of today due to issues at the distribution sites and weather,” Angie Ling with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Service said. “We do not have an anticipated delivery at this time. Two of our larger shipments of Pfizer did arrive on Monday and will be used in our scheduled clinics.”

The state also announced its allotment of vaccines is increasing, to more than 36,000 doses a week. And officials now say the general public will have access to the vaccines in April or May.

“To continue to ensure that our population is protected, when Nebraska begins vaccinating the general population, those 50-64 years old will be prioritized followed by the remainder of the population, those 16-49 years old,” said Felicia Quintana-Zinn with the DHHS.

Right now the state is in Phase 1-B of the vaccination process that concentrates on people 65 years and older and people who are at higher risk of contracting the disease because of pre-existing health conditions.