A New Covid Dilemma: What to Do When Vaccine Supply Exceeds Demand?

And now for a new and vexing dilemma for states trying to vaccinate their residents against Covid-19: What to do when supply of the vaccine greatly outstrips demand?

Several states, long desperate for as many doses as they could get, are now awash in unused doses of Covid vaccines as demand dwindles and supply continues to ramp up. And many are having either to come up with new and creative ways to vaccinate the hard to reach and the hesitant or to start cutting back on supplies, even though 43 percent of Americans have not received any vaccinations.

About 112.6 million people, or 34 percent of the population, were fully vaccinated as of Saturday.

The slowing of demand was somewhat expected. During the initial rush of vaccine distribution over the winter and into the spring, appointments were coveted and often difficult to find. But today vaccines are more widely available, and officials have been left to target groups that may have missed out on shots because they are too poor, isolated or hard to reach, or because they’re either skeptical of the shot or convinced they don’t want it.

Of the 329 million doses shipped by the federal government to states, about 257 million have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several states are now sitting on surpluses, leaving officials to grapple with how best to find willing arms, and, in the meantime, telling the federal government to hold off on sending their full allotments.  

Read More:  NYTimes.com

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