* Last night…
* The governor was asked about Leader McConchie’s tweet today…
Well, I think Senator McConchie isn’t paying attention to the numbers. The real numbers are that we have separated out the number of doses that are necessary for all of our long-term care facilities. And that is taking time to roll out, that’s being done by a federal partnership. If you take all of those doses out and remove the number of second doses that have been delivered to the state of Illinois, for people who, when they are needed, will get them and therefore those are in storage as well, because their second doses, we are not even allowed to dip into those second doses, to give them out as first doses. When you take all of those out, actually, we’re doing quite well as a state at getting administration of vaccinations, putting them in people’s arms.
I can’t even follow that mess. A little help?
*** UPDATE 1 *** Jordan Abudayyeh called and during our little chat I asked if she’d just send me a coherent translation…
Looking at the total number delivered versus the total number administered fails to take into account the data lag between those two numbers. Deliveries to the state are reported immediately, but once a shot is administered providers have 72 hours to report that to the state and the CDC. There are also more than 500,000 doses in reserve for the pharmacy partnership for long term care facilities. Just yesterday, providers broke another record and reported administering more than 53,000 doses in one day.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Leader McConchie…
I’m actually paying very close attention to the numbers, which is why I questioned why Illinois is 44th out of 50 states in the percentage of the population that has received at least their first shot. The New York Times data clearly shows that we are far behind other states with large populations like Florida (ranked 9th) and New York (ranked 13th). Based on IDPH data, 49 percent of our COVID-19 deaths have been associated with long-term care facilities, yet only 22 percent of the total allocated doses for LTCs have been administered, despite being designated in Phase 1 A. Contrary to what the governor said today, I do not believe ‘we are actually doing quite well as a state’ in this area.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Back to Jordan…
All of the skilled nursing facilities have been visited as part of the federal pharmacy program; the partners completed that phase Monday. Skilled nursing facilities are where 90% of the deaths at long term care facilities take place. The federal partnership has moved on to assisted living facilities now.
* Related…
* Pritzker, CVS/Walgreens Point Fingers Over Long-Term Care Facility Vaccine Program
- Truthiness - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:22 pm:
A simpler response would be, “the feds took a bunch of doses for nursing homes. We can’t touch those. Of what are allowed to deliver, we think we are doing a good job.”
- Bruce( no not him) - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:22 pm:
We’ve given all the doses we’ve given. The ones we haven’t don’t really count cause they don’t.
- Masker - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:22 pm:
Simple…1.7 dosage….700k administered. 700k are reserved for second shots. So that is 1 4 million of the 1.7 million. The bulk of the remaining 300k is reserved for nursing homes it appears.
- Smalls - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:23 pm:
What the Governor is glossing over is that the rollout of the LTC facility vaccines has been an absolute disaster through Walgreens and CVS. We are 6 weeks in, and only 20% of the allocated doses for LTC facilities have been administered. The State needs to take this over immediately. There is no reason those vaccines should not be completed in the next 2 weeks. Treat it like the emergency that it is and use the National Guard if necessary.
- Perrid - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:24 pm:
Some of the doses are spoken for by nursing homes, and some are spoken for as second doses, and he’s arguing that means there aren’t as many being “wasted” or something. Just looking at doses delivered to IL doesn’t tell the whole story, or something like that.
And the ones for nursing homes are going slow because the feds are using Walmart/CVS, and IDPH is saying that Walmart/CVS is slowing the process down. Hannah has a thread on Twitter about this.
No idea how much of that is true/fair, but I think that’s what he meant.
- JB13 - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:28 pm:
Translation: I’m doing a great job, as always, and everything that has gone wrong is always someone else’s fault, and if you don’t agree, it’s because you’re not dealing in real numbers, science and data.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:29 pm:
Translate?
“If you parse out enough, what’s left seems confusing enough to move on”
- Amalia - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:29 pm:
but I’m sure I don’t hear McConchie asking what the discrepancy is at the national level, the mess that Trump left. vs. a second dose set aside for in home vaccinations here.
- dr - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:29 pm:
Trump gone, no one else to blame
- Chicagonk - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:30 pm:
The follow-up question should be whether he will follow other states like Minnesota and hold back distributions to CVS and Walgreens until CVS and Walgreens work through their current supplies.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:31 pm:
Better?
“I’m doing nuance… to both a credit and hinderance to your question”
- AC - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:35 pm:
Masker has the correct translation I believe. The Governor needs to work on his messaging, this is an issue a lot of people are paying attention to.
That said, it raises the issue of why we are holding on to the second doses. This week the feds are providing a 3 week look ahead for how many vaccines states will receive. Illinois should be reserving future inventory for second doses, not sitting on the second doses from current inventory. If the state isn’t 100% confident of what will arrive in the future, apply a safety factor, but it doesn’t need to be 100%, does it?
- Smalls - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:35 pm:
I don’t know if the Biden administration has taken a stance on this yet, but on Jan 12 the Trump administration instructed states not to hold any vaccines back for second shots. So what the Governor said today seems to contradict the guidance from the HHS.
- Cool Papa Bell - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:36 pm:
If your explaining your losing.
The Governor is in a no win situation. The vaccine distribution rollout is rather confusing to explain.
The state gets vaccine, Chicago gets vaccines, then Walgreens and CVS get vaccines. They all kinda get reported in the same bucket - but they don’t all count the same way… Then 1.7 million vaccines really aren’t for 1.7 million people - two shots a person… and then when the J and J vaccine comes its one shot, one person. Begin to explain that rollout compared to a two shot regime. Its a terrible no good rotten mess of numbers and logistics that people don’t or won’t understand.
Don’t forget that the federal LTC rollout began a few weeks after the state rollout to health care workers.
Ugh.. What a mess.
- Been There - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:36 pm:
=== because their second doses, ===
Nitpicking but it should read “because they’re second doses,====
Besides that, what Masker says sums it up pretty well.
- Back to the Future - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:37 pm:
I’m sure we have all stumbled a bit in answering questions and are fortunate not be in the spotlight like the Governor.
In the Governor’s defense, this answer is much better than his
“Stuff happens” answer.
I read the answer three times and agree with the JB13 translation.
- illinifan - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:38 pm:
CVS and Walgreens dosage to LTC etc has been a disaster nationwide. Arizona has only had 25% distributed as well. A lot said here is that they did not have enough staff trained to do this. Wonder if the contracts had any metrics established?
- Franklin - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:43 pm:
It was Rauner err Trump err Madigan err who do I blame now?
- Not the Dude - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:44 pm:
Those aren’t the droids you’re looking for.
- Cool Papa Bell - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:45 pm:
Personal note.
My dad got his shot last Tuesday, waited in line, in his car for 7 hours. Had an appointment.
7 hours. 78 years old.
Do Better.
- Citizen Kane - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:45 pm:
IDES, IDVA, and now this. I’m not sure who is running things over there but performance is lacking. The latest numbers show that we’ve only administered 43% of what has been distributed to us. That number should be at least 50% but probably 60%.
- Fav Human - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:49 pm:
I note that of the “big states”, in population, FL, NY, CA, PA, OH, MI are doing better than IL.
So yes, IL DID mess up, in some way that those others did not.
Anecdotally, I have heard from a friend in a hospital that at times they have had to toss out doses, as it had warmed up, and no arms available to get them. I am not sure how common something like this might be.
- Just a thought - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:52 pm:
Just reading between the lines here, but it seems like the vaccine rollout going very slow, but no one on either side knows exactly how slow its going, so the Repubs are blaming the Gov and the Gov is blaming the feds. Lose/lose?
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:53 pm:
Maybe some visuals (infographs) would help him out. The whole two-dose regime and the mess from the fed rollout is not helping with this process. I hoping the J&J one shot is effective, and am waiting on that one.
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:56 pm:
Talk to IDPH for full explainer but simply:
There are X doses for Illinois. Chicago gets Y subtracted out of X, but gets them directly and gives out Y themselves. There’s no state go between. Nursing homes/LTC get Z doses and that is subtracted from X for Illinois but also has a delivery mechanism not controlled by the state, so the state isn’t a middle man. So when the state gets X, it’s not state government getting X directly, it’s the total for all distributors in the state.
- Cool Papa Bell - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:56 pm:
@Kane - A problem, and people don’t care about logistics, but its the cold chain. Delivered in Illinois doesn’t mean its anywhere near ready to go into someone’s arm.
A deep cold storage system may be hours away from the intended distribution point.
And since we insist on taking reservations for vaccines, that further slows down the delivery.
Easy to say we need to be at 60% - but its really just not feasible with a two shot, cold chain custody vaccine, that is only going out on a reservation basis.
If this was the J and J shot rollout the vaccination would easily be twice as fast given the changes in the distribution model.
- Joe Bidenopolous - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:57 pm:
=Anecdotally, I have heard from a friend in a hospital that at times they have had to toss out doses, as it had warmed up, and no arms available to get them. I am not sure how common something like this might be.=
Same. Have a relative who works for a major hospital system. The really low take-up rate (especially among nurses, I guess) left that system with oodles of vaccine but no one they were authorized to give them to. Some had to be tossed and I know they were looking for ways to just give them to anyone over 65. That was during 1A
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:57 pm:
To the post,
Fair question by McConchie, a tough nuanced (far too nuanced to help) by Pritzker.
If I were in the Governor’s office, and I felt the need to clarify because the nuance that his response had is the response desired, make a chart/graph… show it, don’t talk about it.
Talking around numbers as nuance won’t fly when McConchie and others, easily, can make (a) simple question(s) biting.
- Smalls - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:58 pm:
Go to the CDC vaccine data website. Sort it by Doses Administered per 100k population. And you will see there are only 6 states worse than Illinois. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations
- Southern Skeptic - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 2:07 pm:
I think the point is that of the doses the state has control of we’ve administered about 65%. The Walgreens/CVS LTC messes with our numbers, but it’s a Federal program the state has no control over.
- Smalls - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 2:11 pm:
== but it’s a Federal program the state has no control over.==
While this was the Federal plan, some states have canceled the contracts with Walgreens/CVS and taken it over themselves, so Illinois can control this. Other states are just pulling back these doses because they are not being used.
- dbk - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 2:13 pm:
–And you will see there are only 6 states worse than Illinois–
Yes, but it’s not obvious whether those other 44 states are sequestering the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which Illinois is apparently doing.
AFAIK, only West Viginia has resolved the problem of vaccinating those in LTC facilities, and they did it by refusing to participate in the collaboration with CVS/Walgreens, relying instead on locally-owned and operated pharmacies.
- Dee Lay - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 2:15 pm:
Free advice for the state of IL folks: Make their #s clearer on the website by setting it as two columns: Doses Administrated and LTC Allocated Doses
And then total up below it.
Add a note regarding LTC Allocated and when those will come back into general use.
Transparency without clarity defeats its purpose!
- jimbo - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 2:18 pm:
~~FL, NY, CA, PA, OH, MI are doing better than IL.
So yes, IL DID mess up, in some way that those others did not.~~
It’s certainly beginning to seem like it. It’s disingenuous to blame this on Walg/CVS- because every state should have the same Fed issues- no?
And if it’s because IL’s major population center handles it’s own dosages/delivery then they need to break that out better.
Something is wrong with either the process or the publicity and they better get on top of it.
- thisjustinagain - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 2:31 pm:
(Prof. Farnsworth voice) “Good news, everyone. I’ve deciphered the secret message from Illinois governor J.B. Pritizker….” Man, that was one painful sort-of-explanation. Kudos to O.W.’s responses prior to mine also. Phew.
- Cool Papa Bell - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 2:36 pm:
Are those 500k shots in reserve for the pharmacy program now being given out at pharmacies?
I’ve wondered how Walgreens is stocking their supply?
IDPH website says = Illinois has approximately 1,200 long-term care facilities serving more than 100,000 residents, from the young to the elderly.=
So if the fed program has 500k delivered that covers residents and workers (who are saying no). Where is the surplus of shots right now?
- Louis G Atsaves - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 2:56 pm:
As I read the article explaining this mess, it is pretty clear that the Governor needs to start owning up instead of deflecting blame. Walgreens and CVS show up as instructed, but in Illinois we have fallen behind. The article references employees of nursing homes and assisting living facilities still refusing vaccines? The Governor is working with the union on this? That is the fault of the Feds, or Walgreens or CVS? Hardly. Own up to this Governor. Make it right.
- SumGai1986 - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 2:59 pm:
==The State needs to take this over immediately.==
Yeah, THAT will fix the problem…snark
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 3:02 pm:
- Smalls - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:58 pm:
Only 8 states have fewer doses distributed per 100K than Illinois.
- Last Bull Moose - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 3:04 pm:
I know logistics can be hard. But the state had months to prepare. They can recover, but it will not be easy.
- Candy Dogood - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 3:06 pm:
I went ahead and checked the source that our Dear Senator referred to: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-19-vaccine-doses.html
In my opinion the data provided does not merit the response that the Senator has chosen to go with. Aside from logistics issues and reporting time frames which have been explained, there’s also the fact that we simply have more people to vaccinate and we are going to be sent more doses.
The states with higher rates of distribution did not receive as many doses and tend to have smaller populations. I don’t think the ranking is significant or important because every single public health apparatus and government involved in this is doing something that’s never been done before and having to tackle problems as they arrive.
You know what that data really suggests? It suggests that everyone involved with this project everywhere is trying their best.
The pharmacy program is going to be it’s own disaster, but that’s on the Trump administration for failing to check to see if these for profit entities were actually going to build additional capacity to deliver vaccines.
- Bruce( no not him) - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 3:11 pm:
But, what are we doing to fix it? Blame doesn’t do anything.
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 3:12 pm:
- Smalls - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 1:58 pm:
And if you do administered per 100k divided by distributed by 100k, Illinois at 48% and for states and territories and the median is 53%
- hisgirlfriday - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 3:16 pm:
The outsourcing of vaccine distribution to the big chain pharmacies not working out does not surprise me.
I have a family member who is a retail pharmacist for one of those chains in IL. Their company announced their involvement in vaccine distribution to great fanfare on CNBC without communicating any meaningful information about how it would work to their staff on the ground for some time.
At least in my relative’s area, the company did not hire any extra workers to distribute the vaccine and made it voluntary for their pharmacists to participate in administering the vaccines at long-term care centers.
- Citizen - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 3:57 pm:
===Easy to say we need to be at 60% - but its really just not feasible with a two shot, cold chain custody vaccine, that is only going out on a reservation basis.===
If that was true, then other States wouldn’t be administering 60% of their doses. Like I said, there is no reason to be below 50% and ideally we should strive to be closer to 60% which would hedge our bet on future supplies for folks second dose. It seems though as they are finally improving. Change for the good in this administration only seems to happen after outside pressure. (IDES, IDVA, this, etc…)
- Frank talks - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 4:16 pm:
Gov taking some big hits in the last month.
- very old soil - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 4:20 pm:
Is relying on county health departments part of the problem?
- Taxedoutwest - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 4:20 pm:
This is how I decipher it: Dr. Ezike!!!! The podium is all yours!
- allknowingmasterofraccoodom - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 4:27 pm:
Madigan and those vaccines he controls.
- Thomas Paine - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 4:49 pm:
As long as Pritzker had Trump to compare himself to and blame, he was okay.
Without Trump as a yard stick, Pritzker is going to be judged based on his results.and his results alone.
Imagine the people complaining that their loved ones died waiting for the vaccine in March or April while Chicago’s Mayor was vaccinated on January 25th.
- Father Ted - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 5:28 pm:
Obviously, this is anecdotal- but an aunt in Texas- Houston, no less- was vaccinated over a week ago through Harris County. Another aunt in Ohio was able to go to a Kroger store for the vaccine. My parents in suburban Cook have no idea when they’ll be able to go or where.
- Shytown - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 6:21 pm:
== As long as Pritzker had Trump to compare himself to and blame, he was okay.==
Trump might be gone, but it’s his admin that got us into this mess and it’s his admin that did zip to create a smooth roll out of vaccine distribution. Sadly his legacy continues.
- Responsa - Wednesday, Jan 27, 21 @ 7:35 pm:
== The Governor needs to work on his messaging, this is an issue a lot of people are paying attention to.== Yeah, maybe more than better messaging is needed. Several days ago on a QOD response on this site I talked about a family friend 87, who lives alone and is a cancer survivor. This is what she emailed us today: “Checked all locations again today and of course there are no vaccination appointments available here. Goodness only knows when I will find one. Everyone is complaining around here that they cannot find a site with openings.”
- Big Tent - Thursday, Jan 28, 21 @ 5:00 am:
Jordan needs to verify what “visited” means. Has IDPH just shown up to make sure they can find these facilities….or have they in fact started vaccinating residents? Sun Times reports this morning that they only started administering shots this week. More translation please….