ALABAMA – According to State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama is not where they thought we would be with vaccinations.
Alabama is still in phase 1-A of vaccinations which includes frontline healthcare workers, high risk first responders and nursing home staff and residents.
So far the state has issued around 52 thousand shots, thats much less than the 300 thousand needed to cover all of the states healthcare workers.
Harris says one of the main reasons behind the delay is that vaccinations are still limited right now.
He says storage issues were a big part of the problem.
Two weeks ago when the Pfizer vaccine was approved only 15 sites in Alabama could store the vaccine.
Now that the Moderna vaccine has been approved, with its less intense storage needs, vaccines are expected to be held at more than 100 sites across the state.
It is still believed that it will be early Summer before vaccines are widely available to the general public.
The next phase of vaccinations is 1-B, which is set to include those over 75 years of age, and people with underlying medical conditions.
Harris says ADPH will be releasing guidance on when that phase will begin in the near future.
