SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health was notified the number of Pfizer-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines Utah will receive next week has dropped by more than 6,800.
"Like many other states, this afternoon we learned we will be receiving fewer doses of the Pfizer vaccine next week than we were planning for. 16,575 doses instead of the 23,400 we were planning for. Working now to figure out why," a tweet from UDOH said.
Pfizer has already shipped millions of doses of the vaccine around the country, and a statement from the company says they are awaiting further instructions from the US government.
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“We have millions more doses sitting in our warehouse but, as of now, we have not received any shipment instructions for additional doses,” the statement said.
Pfizer’s vaccine comes in two doses, which means those who have been vaccinated this week will be asked to return in three weeks to receive a booster. Distributing the vaccine is made more arduous due to the extremely cold temperatures required to store the vaccines.
Pfizer has been working with UPS and FedEx on distributing vaccines from its warehouses.
Pfizer has said that it plans on distributing up to 50 million vaccines doses globally by the end of the year.
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