Governors are accusing the Trump administration of lying about the availability of additional coronavirus vaccines, following an announcement from top officials that doses will no longer be held in reserve.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said this week the administration would no longer be holding back the second of two doses, and encouraged states to open vaccination eligibility to more people.

But governors say there is no reserve and their limited supply of vaccines will not increase. Instead of being able to dramatically expand access to millions more people, states will have to continue to manage at their current levels.

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The situation adds to growing frustration with the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed. State officials have complained about a lack of clear communication from federal officials, and that the administration has continually changed the allocation numbers.

Oregon Gov. Kate BrownKate BrownOvernight Health Care: Biden unveils vaccine plan with focus on mass inoculations | Worldwide coronavirus deaths pass 2 million | CDC: New variant could be dominant US strain by March Governors say no additional vaccine doses coming, despite Trump admin promise At least 6 GOP legislators took part in Trump-inspired protests MORE (D) on Friday said she learned there were no reserves after speaking to Gen. Gustave Perna of Operation Warp Speed on Thursday.

“This is a deception on a national scale. Oregon’s seniors, teachers, all of us, were depending on the promise of Oregon’s share of the federal reserve of vaccines being released to us,” Brown tweeted.

The Trump administration had been holding back half of the available doses to ensure there is enough supply for everyone who is getting a first dose to later get a second as well.

Earlier this week, Azar and other officials said they had enough confidence in the supply chain so they could stop holding doses in reserve. 

They also changed federal recommendations to prioritize everyone 65 and older, as well as people 16 and older with one high-risk medical condition — an extra 150 million Americans.

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During a call with reporters announcing the change, Azar did not say the original policy had already been phased out, or that there was no longer a reserve.

“We are releasing the entire supply we have for order by states, rather than holding second doses in physical reserve,” he said.

A spokesperson for Operation Warp Speed did not return a request for comment.

The Washington Post first reported the issue earlier Friday, and noted that some state health officials were still in the dark.

According to the paper, Operation Warp Speed stopped stockpiling second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the end of last year. The last shots held in reserve of Moderna’s vaccine supply were shipped to states last weekend.

Brown’s statement comes just days after the state expanded eligibility to allow everyone 65 and older, as well as child care providers and early learning and K-12 educators and staff, to get a shot. 

Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen sent a letter to Azar demanding an explanation.

“While releasing second doses to be used as first doses entails considerable risk, we were encouraged by your assurances that production is accelerating at a rate sufficient to meet future demand,” Allen wrote.

But he said Perna informed state officials on a call Thursday night there were no reserves, and the allocation of vaccines would not be increasing.

“If true, this is extremely disturbing, and puts our plans to expand eligibility at grave risk,” Allen wrote. 

“Those plans were made on the basis of reliance on your statement about ‘releasing the entire supply’ you have in reserve. If this information is accurate, we will be unable to begin vaccinating our vulnerable seniors on January 23rd as planned,” he added.

New York Gov. Andrew CuomoAndrew CuomoGovernors say no additional vaccine doses coming, despite Trump admin promise Mississippi runs out of coronavirus vaccine as state expands eligibility Cuomo announces performance initiative to revive New York’s arts economy MORE (D) on Friday said the state’s allocation actually decreased this week, from 300,000 doses down to 250,000.

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“The Trump administration said they would expedite the second dose. It turns out that was not true, they had already sent out everything they had, so there was no increase in supply. In the meantime there was a dramatic increase in eligibility,” Cuomo said.

“What they did was like opening the floodgates of eligibility, and that entire flood has to go through a syringe. That’s the situation the federal government created,” he added.

The frustration goes beyond blue states. 

In Oklahoma, Deputy Commissioner of Health Keith Reed said the state planned to ramp up vaccination efforts because they were anticipating getting a much bigger delivery from the federal government. 

He told reporters Friday he was blindsided by the change.

“We were given a clear impression that for every prime dose we were receiving each week, there was an equivalent amount of vaccine held back for a second dose,” Reed said, but at some point that was no longer happening, and the state was not informed.

Two off-duty police officers in Virginia have been charged in connection to the deadly breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Rocky Mount Police Officers Jacob Fracker and Thomas Robertson were arrested Wednesday after they were photographed inside the Capitol making an obscene gesture in front of the John Stark statute, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced.

A photo included as an exhibit in the criminal complaint released by authorities shows the men posing in front of the statue with their fingers raised.

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In a social media post included in the complaint, Robertson said, “CNN and the Left are just mad because we actually attacked the government who is the problem and not some random small business … The right IN ONE DAY took the f—— U.S. Capitol. Keep poking us.”

He also said he was “proud” of the photo in an Instagram post that was shared to Facebook because he was “willing to put his skin in the game.”

In a separate Facebook post, Fracker said, “Lol to anyone who’s possibly concerned about the picture of me going around … sorry I hate freedom? …Not like I did anything illegal…y’all do what you feel you need to.” That post has since been deleted, but was also an exhibit to the criminal complaint.

Robertson admitted to Newsweek that he and Fracker sent the photo to police department colleagues and posted it to his own Facebook page after it was leaked, according to the complaint.

The complaint also says Robertson claimed he broke no laws and was escorted in by police, “notwithstanding his previous posts that he had ‘attacked the government’ and ‘took the f—— Capitol.’”

Both men have been charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

The U.S. attorney’s office for D.C. has charged more than 70 cases following the attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five dead, and the FBI has opened investigations into more than 170 people.

Twitter on Wednesday said that the brief locking of a GOP congresswoman’s account was the result of “incorrect enforcement action.” 

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a freshman member of Congress who recently said she wanted to carry her Glock pistol in the Capitol, reported Wednesday on Instagram that she received a weeklong ban from posting from her account. 

A spokesperson for Twitter confirmed to The Hill Wednesday afternoon that the site’s content moderation team “took the incorrect enforcement action” in response to one of the congresswoman’s tweets, and had rectified the decision by unfreezing Boebert’s account and placing a warning on the tweet in question.

“The Tweet in question is now labeled in accordance with our Civic Integrity Policy. The Tweet will not be required to be removed and the account will not be temporarily locked,” said the Twitter spokesperson.

The incident appeared to center around a Jan. 9 tweet in which Boebert falsely accused the Democratic National Committee (DNC) of rigging the 2020 election. The tweet is now labeled with a content warning from Twitter which restricts users from replying to or otherwise interacting with the post.

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The mix up with Twitter comes about a week after President TrumpDonald TrumpCotton: Senate lacks authority to hold impeachment trial once Trump leaves office Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will introduce impeachment articles against Biden ICE acting director resigns weeks after assuming post MORE was permanently suspended from Twitter after the platform determined that his future posts would incite violence. Other mainstream social media platforms such as Facebook have also taken restrictive measures against Trump in his final days of his presidency after he encouraged a group of his supporters last week to gather at the Capitol while Congress certified the 2020 election results.

Following his remarks, a mob of rioters attacked the Capitol building breaking windows, vandalizing lawmakers’ offices and forcing staff, media and members to evacuate both chambers of Congress to undisclosed locations. 

Boebert was recently involved in tensions that flared between Capitol Police and some Republican lawmakers who argued over the use of metal detectors outside the House chamber following the violent insurrection. Boebert was seen by a reporter setting off the metal detector and refusing to turn her bag over for inspection. 

Later Boebert tweeted: “I am legally permitted to carry my firearm in Washington, D.C. and within the Capitol complex.” She added that the detectors are “just another political stunt by Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi” that wouldn’t have prevented last week’s riots.

source: PWInsider.com

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