U.S. Dragged Feet on Getting Monkeypox Vax Into Vials: NYT

With frustrated Americans clamoring for more vaccines to fight the rapid spread of monkeypox, the federal government has struggled to meet demand. This is, at least in part, the result of some serious and potentially deadly procrastination, The New York Times reported Wednesday. After the first cases of the disease were identified in the U.S., it was weeks before the Department of Health and Human Services requested that the roughly 16.5 million doses owned in bulk by the U.S. be processed into vials for distribution, according to the newspaper. By June 10, when the U.S. finally placed its first order with Bavarian Nordic, the company that produces and stores the vaccine for the U.S., an international backlog meant that the earliest delivery date for the 500,000 doses ordered would be October. Two more orders by the HHS, placed on July 1 and July 15, could only be delivered next year. Meanwhile, the Times previously reported, a national stockpile of 20 million doses was largely allowed to expire, down to just over 2,000 usable doses.