Leaders in Washington region pledge to increase speed of coronavirus vaccine rollout

Virginia has distributed more than 285,000 doses of the vaccine to hospitals and long-term care facilities across the state, but as of Wednesday, only 54,295 people had received the shot.

Maryland has administered 36,669 doses of vaccine to health-care workers, first responders and those in long-term care facilities, but that represents less than 15% of the roughly 273,875 vaccine doses Maryland has been allotted.

The pace is similar across the nation: Although Operation Warp Speed, the federal vaccine rollout initiative, expected 20 million people to be inoculated by the end of the year, just 2.1 million people had been vaccinated as of Monday, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures. Federal officials said Wednesday that 14 million doses have been distributed to states.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to blame states for the lagging rollout, telling them to "get moving!" in a Twitter message. His critics said the administration's lack of planning was the problem.

"When you don't make a plan and dismiss states' need for coordination and strategy, this is what you get: a fouled-up vaccine distribution that's going so slow it would take years," Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., wrote on Twitter.

Health officials in the Washington region addressed questions about the pace of vaccinations Wednesday as they braced for a possible uptick in coronavirus infections after holiday gatherings, even as a mid-December spike in cases has subsided slightly.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said in a Wednesday interview on "CBS This Morning" that the state delivered initial batches of vaccines to every hospital, local health department and nursing home but that "they're having a little bit of a time getting ramped up."

He, too, cited a lack of financial support and planning from the federal government. Hogan said that while the state delivered shipments of the vaccines directly to hospitals and nursing homes, the staff at those facilities are developing their own distribution plans.

"It's a massive undertaking, and they have to organize it in such a way that they can make sure to get the second dose in the couple-week period that is required," Hogan said, referring to the vaccines' two-dose regimen. "So it's not just sticking needles in arms. There's a lot of moving parts. And I think nobody is quite performing at the top capacity, and we've all got to work together to ramp it up."

Planning has been complicated, in part, by the fact that federal estimates for vaccine allocation provided to states have not been set in stone, said Christy Gray, director of the Virginia Department of Health's Division of Immunization.

"The actual amount of vaccine received in Virginia is a moving target and is dependent on when and how quickly vaccination doses are manufactured," Gray said.

The state is expecting to receive an additional shipment of vaccine by Friday to bring its total allocation to 370,000 doses since the rollout began in mid-December. That's lower than the 480,000 the state was planning to receive, which Gray said was because of a calculation error by Operation Warp Speed. Hogan also said Wednesday that Maryland received fewer vaccine doses than expected.

Erin Beard, a spokeswoman for the Virginia health department, said Operation Warp Speed included some vaccines in its initial estimate that weren't immediately available for distribution.

Still, she said that despite some kinks to iron out, "54,295 vaccinations in two weeks is no small feat."

"It is expected to be slower in the beginning, but it will get much quicker as we progress," Beard said in an email. "The main challenges include delays in reporting data and dealing with new systems and operations, which are to be expected in the beginning of any operation at this scale."

Residents of long-term care facilities in Virginia began receiving the vaccine Monday, with Walgreens and CVS assisting in the administration. Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, on Wednesday visited Westport Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Richmond, where nearly 300 residents and staff members were vaccinated.

Northam spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky said the governor is "proud of our progress but certainly knows we have a long way to go." She added: "He understands this is a complex logistical challenge and he's looking forward to the [pace] picking up."

Virginia reported 4,048 new infections and 64 deaths Wednesday - topping Tuesday's death toll to become the second-highest daily total of the pandemic - with hospitalizations up slightly since last week. Hospitalizations are down slightly in Maryland, which reported 2,628 new infections and 45 deaths Wednesday, while its seven-day average has fallen to 38 cases per 100,000 residents, compared with the Dec. 12 peak of 47 cases.

The District reported 223 new cases and five deaths Wednesday. The city does not have a publicly accessible vaccine dashboard but had administered at least 11,000 doses as of Tuesday, according to The Washington Post's tracker. It is expected to receive 44,000 doses by next week.

A District Health Department spokeswoman said officials were not available Wednesday to answer questions about vaccine distribution but would have updates Monday.

In Maryland, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, a Democrat, on Wednesday cited stabilizing hospitalizations and case rates as his reason for allowing indoor dining at 25% capacity, reversing a Dec. 10 order that suspended such dining. Restaurants had sued over the order but remained open while a judge considered the case.

Pittman said he was pleased that metrics had slightly improved, crediting residents for responsible social behavior.

"We still expect a challenging surge in covid hospitalizations and a post-holiday case rate increase, but the improved forecast allows us to maintain our current level of restrictions," he said.

Pittman's new order requires restaurants to collect information from diners for contact tracing. He described closing indoor dining as "a last resort" but said he would not rule out the possibility of bringing back a ban if metrics show it is necessary.

The restaurants that had sued Pittman agreed to drop their case Wednesday.

Indoor dining is not allowed in Montgomery or Prince George's counties, or in the city of Baltimore. Judges in those jurisdictions have upheld bans following challenges from the Restaurant Association of Maryland.

Montgomery County held its first vaccination clinic Wednesday for health-care workers and first responders. More than 1,300 people who live or work in the county made appointments to receive doses of the Moderna vaccine, health department spokeswoman Mary Anderson said. She emphasized that the county's vaccination team is focused on those in the highest-priority groups and urged others to be patient.

Susan Dodge, 65, was among the first to be vaccinated at the White Oak Community Recreation Center. A midwife, she lives in Anne Arundel County and conducts home births in Montgomery, Prince George's and elsewhere. After a year of worrying about whether she might expose her clients - or their babies - to the virus, getting vaccinated was an overwhelming experience, she said.

"This virus has taken over our lives for nearly a year," Dodge said as tears welled in her eyes after receiving the shot. "This is a drip of hope."

The clinic was set up with 15 stations staffed by members of the county's vaccination team, which includes public health employees, school health nurses and EMTs. As people filed in, many expressed relief.

A volunteer paramedic said his wife would finally have peace of mind when he headed out to answer calls. A hospital worker snapped a selfie for her family.

Isa Brebbia, 22, said some people at the fire department where he works as a paramedic are doubtful of the vaccine. "There's a lot of skepticism going around," he said, but he decided it was better to get it, especially because both his parents are doctors.

"For all of our sake," he said, "this seemed like the safer thing to do."

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The Washington Post's Patricia Sullivan contributed to this report.