Vaccine roll-out plan? Was there ever a plan?

In mid-December, U.S. Army Gen. Gustave Perna, who led Operation Warp Speed, held a news conference to apologize to the governors in more than a dozen states because their first shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech would be about half of what they initially understood.

Next came the Grafton, Wisconsin hospital pharmacist who purposely let 57 vials of COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna -- enough for 570 doses -- sit without refrigeration overnight for two nights. This rendered the vaccines useless and they had to be discarded. In dollars, that was $11,000 down the drain. This was discovered December 31, 2020. The pharmacist gave investigators no motive.

Less than a week ago, a loose freezer plug was said to be the cause of 1,900 doses of COVID vaccine being spoiled due to freezer malfunction at a Boston, Massachusetts, Veterans Affairs Medical Center… and once again, CEOs and other responsible parties decried the incident as “unforgivable.”

A few days ago, a physician who was working at a vaccination center in Humble, Texas, was accused of allegedly taking a vial of the Moderna vaccine offsite to vaccinate nine friends and family, including his wife. The doctor said the vial had already been punctured and he was trying not to waste the vaccine.

One Texas newspaper reported an Austin pharmacy owner said he was told he would be getting the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine a mere two hours before it arrived. This was followed by a mad rush to set up the injection station as well as how the pharmacy would collect the necessary patient information before sending it to the State Health Department.

This past week, Hays County Health Department, in anticipation of receiving their vaccine shipment, opened their portal to take appointments from the public. Fifteen minutes later, all slots for the 1,500 vaccination appointments had been gobbled up. Did you miss getting an appointment? So did I.

In other parts of Texas, there have been many more doses than available doctors, nurses and pharmacists to administer them. The balance between doses and injectors appears to be difficult to maintain.

However, once you’re lucky enough to get an appointment -- and timing is everything here -- the COVID sites appear to be less stringent. As an example, when one man went for his appointment, his younger wife went with him, and when the man asked if his wife could get her vaccine, there was no argument, no question. Both the man and his wife left with their first injection of the Pfizer vaccine.

Two friends went together to the site, their appointments were an hour apart, but both received their inoculations immediately.

So, here are my questions: Why aren’t our Walgreens and CVS pharmacies (now that they have fulfilled their contract to inoculate patients and staff in all longterm care facilities) receivin doses for the general public Isn’t it time to offer the vaccines to everyone?

Is there no one in Texas smart enough to come up with a fool-proof plan that can disseminate shipments of vaccine in a well-informed and orderly manner? Do we have to have the drama and lack of conformity and, quite frankly, the chaos we have seen, thus far? And, to solve the problems of the rogue vaccine handlers described previously, do we have the ability to provide security and to hire trustworthy and competent professionals?

Plan or no plan, it’s estimated that by February, the COVID death toll will fly by the 500,000 mark. I’m concerned -- we’re not just talking about a mere inoculation here or being able to get “the impossible” appointment. It truly is a matter of life and death.