BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts expects to receive 20% fewer doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this year after the federal government reduced its allotment, state officials said Friday.
The state joins more than a dozen others that have been told their vaccine shipments will be smaller than planned in coming weeks. Instead of receiving 180,000, Massachusetts now expects to get 145,000.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said he hasn’t received an explanation for the cutback.
“We’re certainly frustrated,” Baker said at a COVID-19 briefing on Friday. “We’re working to get clarity on what this means, what happened and how that bump will be dealt with along the way.”
Baker said he expects to get more answers during a call with federal officials next week. Despite the reduced allotment, Baker said he expects the state to have “more than enough” doses in the first months of 2021.
Vaccine cutbacks in some states have raised concerns about potential delays in shots for health care workers and long-term care residents.
Senior Trump administration officials on Thursday downplayed the risk of delays, citing a confusion over semantics and changes to the delivery schedule, while Pfizer said its production levels have not changed.
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