If you want to see a state with really bad vaccine distribution problems, take a look at Kansas, which ranks dead last in the country.
CNN is quite proud of its correspondent, Rosa Flores, for getting into a “heated exchange” with Florida governor Ron DeSantis. It is allegedly outrageous that senior citizens are waiting “hours and hours, even overnight” to receive the vaccine, and that a state website designed to let seniors make appointments keeps crashing.
DeSantis quickly responded that high demand was the root of the problem, and Flores grew irritated, contending DeSantis interrupted her before she could finish asking the question. Then the Florida governor grew irritated, contending Flores wanted to give a speech and ask multiple questions. DeSantis went on to say that the hospitals with seniors waiting overnight had offered the vaccine on a first-come, first-serve basis, and that the state government was not going to dictate to hospitals how they distribute the vaccine.
DeSantis is one of the designated villains of this pandemic, and has allegedly been one of the worst governors of the country in responding to the pandemic. But Florida currently ranks 26th in the country in cases per million residents and 23rd in the country in deaths per million. (Considering that more than 20 percent of Florida’s population is over 65 and most at risk to succumbing to the virus, that ranking looks even better.) North Dakota ranks worst in cases per million, and New Jersey ranks worst in deaths per million.
Florida has administered 23.3 percent of the vaccines it received, about 264,000 of 1.1 million. That’s not good, sixth from the bottom of the 50 states. It’s possible that Florida’s approach of leaving decisions up to individual counties and hospitals isn’t working out as DeSantis and others hoped; maybe clearer guidance about prioritization and distribution methods would be helpful. Or maybe it would just get in the way, the way New York governor Andrew Cuomo wants to punish his state’s hospitals if they give the vaccine to anyone not on the state’s priority list, and punish hospitals if they let unused doses spoil.
But if you want to see a state with really bad vaccine distribution problems, take a look at Kansas, which ranks dead last in the country. As CNN notes, this is week four of the rollout of the vaccine, and Kansas has administered just 15.3 percent of the vaccines it was provided — just 20,110 of 131,750, as of this writing.
The governor of Kansas insists that the CDC just isn’t accurately assessing what a great job her state is doing and assures everyone that her state is actually doing better than the others.
Gov. Laura Kelly said Monday that she’s “very comfortable” with how Kansas is distributing COVID-19 vaccines despite U.S. government data showing its inoculation rate is the lowest of any state.
The Democratic governor argued that Kansas likely has a more efficient distribution system than other states and is getting vaccine doses more quickly to more communities. The state Department of Health and Environment has said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Kansas behind other states because of a reporting lag. Kelly told reporters the state has concentrated on “getting vaccinations in people’s arms.”
The state health department has not published or posted online its own data for the number of shots given, and Kelly has faced criticism from top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature over the CDC’s vaccination data. House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., an Olathe Republican, said Monday that Kansas residents “are tired of hearing excuses.”
But Kansas governor Laura Kelly is not one of the designated villains of this pandemic, and she’ll only be subjected to the scrutiny of the local AP reporter, not segments on CNN.