By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Nebraska ranks in the middle of the pack in the rate of administering coronavirus vaccines.
Still, Gov. Pete Ricketts says vaccine distribution is going smoothly in Nebraska with nearly all of the first dose of the vaccine given the state distributed and 62% of the second dose.
“If there’s a frustration I have it’s with the federal pharmacy program,” Ricketts tells St. Joseph Post. “The companies like CVS and Walgreens are being slower than say, Community Pharmacy, which is a Nebraska-based company, in getting those vaccines distributed.”
Ricketts says the federal pharmacies have only distributed 65% of the first dose and 35% of the 2nd dose.
Ricketts also hopes to persuade the federal government to drop its plans to conduct its own mass vaccination clinic.
“I think the better solution is for the federal government just to give the vaccines to the states and let us manage it, because we will do it better than the federal government is going to do it,” according to Ricketts.
Nebraska ranked 33rd among states and the District of Columbia by administering 14,770 shots per 100,000 people as of Sunday, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, Nebraska has administered 285,708 of the 407,500 doses it has received — or roughly 70% of the doses.
Ricketts says he’s satisfied with the supply of vaccine the state has gotten.
“The supply that we have received has been very consistent and we’re getting a look into three weeks down the road that will allow us to plan to be able to continue to deliver the vaccine and make sure we’re getting it out as quickly as possible,” Ricketts says.
Nebraska expects more than 60,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines to be available in the state this week. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says it expects to receive 59,450 doses of the vaccines this week as officials continue to focus on vaccinating everyone 65 and older across Nebraska.