Vaccine reporting delays cited in D.C. region amid sluggish start to distribution
By Gregory S. Schneider, Michael Brice-Saddler and Erin Cox
Coronavirus vaccinations are off to a sluggish start across the greater Washington region, with only a fraction of allotted doses being administered in the past three weeks.
Delays in reporting might make the problem look worse than it is, officials said.
In Maryland, less than one-quarter of the state’s initial batch of 273,875 vaccines has been used, according to state data released Monday. In Virginia, only one-fifth of the state’s allotment of 451,075 doses, or 89,326 vaccinations, had been administered, according to state figures.
In the District, that number stands at about 17,000 of 40,075 delivered doses. But city officials said only 58 percent of health-care providers are fully reporting their vaccine administrations to the city’s immunization information system. Totals won’t be accurate until providers learn how to use the system correctly and consistently, D.C. officials said.