Your local doctor might not get access to the COVID-19 vaccine – here’s why

  • Date: 13-Jan-2021
  • Source: Business Insider
  • Sector:Healthcare
  • Country:Middle East
  • Who else needs to know?

Your local doctor might not get access to the COVID-19 vaccine – here’s why

Healthcare workers get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination at the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center on December 16, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.







Paula Bronstein/Getty Images













Many independently-owned doctors offices say they don't have access to COVID-19 vaccines and have heard little from the federal or state governments about if or when they might receive doses.

Hospitals, large retail pharmacies, and federally-qualified health centers are the main distributors of the vaccine, sources told Insider. 

So far, they've vaccinated nearly 9 million individuals in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That's 11 million people less than the federal government's estimate of 20 million vaccinated Americans by the end of 2020.

Many healthcare professionals criticized the federal government's vaccine distribution strategy, saying it was short-sighted and goes against the principles of public health.

Others say smaller practices don't have the necessary infrastructure of staff to facilitate a vaccination effort, sources told Insider. 

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On December 2, Dr. Jeffrey Gold received an email from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health asking him to enroll his primary care practice in the state's COVID-19 vaccine program. Since