NewsCoronavirus

Actions

Weather delays likely for COVID-19 vaccine shipments, Biden administration says

COVID-19 vaccine
COVID-19 vaccine site
COVID-19 vaccine
Posted at 2:28 PM, Feb 16, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-16 14:48:12-05

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration says delays in vaccine shipments and deliveries are likely because of severe weather across many parts of the country.

The administration says the weather is expected to affect shipments from a FedEx facility in Memphis, Tennessee, and a UPS facility in Louisville, Kentucky. Both facilities serve as vaccine shipping hubs for multiple states.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies are working with the jurisdictions, as well as manufacturing and shipping partners, to assess weather conditions and to help offset potential delivery delays and cancellations.

A winter storm overwhelmed power grids and immobilized the Southern Plains before it carried heavy snow and freezing rain to New England and the Deep South, leaving behind record-setting cold temperatures.

Some vaccination sites have had to close or change their hours Tuesday from the effects of the winter storm. In one case, Missouri canceledall of their mass vaccination events planned for this week, saying the weather was making driving too dangerous and "threatens the health and safety of anyone exposed to the cold."