John Locher / AP
In this Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, file photo, empty vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are seen at a vaccination center at UNLV.
Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 | 5:20 p.m.
Some COVID-19 vaccine deliveries could be delayed this week to Nevada because of the severe winter storms across the nation, state officials announced Monday.
“Our team is monitoring closely and working with health districts and pharmacies that may be affected. We ask Nevadans to continue to be patient at this time,” the Nevada Health Response posted on Twitter.
The theme of patience has been ongoing in the slow rollout of the vaccine in Nevada, which continues to rank low in doses of vaccines received from the federal government and shots administered.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine tracker shows Nevada ranking 49th among states in doses distributed per capita with 17,362 doses delivered per 100,000 residents as of Sunday.
Doses administered sat at 13,909 per 100,000, or 43rd among states.
That’s a net slide from Nevada’s rank about a month ago, when state officials announced the bifurcated “lane” system that prioritizes recipients by occupation and age. On Jan. 11, when Gov. Steve Sisolak unveiled the lanes, CDC data showed Nevada ranking 42nd in vaccines distributed per capita and 44th in vaccines administered.
State officials had previously pinned Nevada’s vaccine administration showing on a data entry backup in Southern Nevada, but earlier this month, it said it had combed out that knot.
“The state continues to refine processes and break down barriers, including clearing a data entry backlog of approximately 20,000 doses in Southern Nevada. Through a partnership with (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and other state resources, the backlog has been eliminated,” the state said in a Feb. 3 Nevada Health Response bulletin. “The state will continue to work with Southern Nevada to ensure this does not happen in the future.”
At his Feb. 11 announcement of relaxed restrictions on event and business capacities, Sisolak struck an optimistic tone about Nevada’s relationship with the new Biden administration, thanking federal partners that have provided “substantial support to our state in the form of personnel, providing us staff to help alleviate the data backlog and vaccinators to get more shots in arms.”
