The federal government was expecting to inoculate at least 20 million Americans by the end of 2020, but fell short of the goal, with only four million doses being administered, according to the CDC.
On Monday, Governor Ned Lamont announced that more than 75,180 COVID-19 doses have been administered and the state has received more than 167,000 vaccines.
The state is also on track to complete 100% of nursing home first clinics by Friday. More than 85 sites are administering vaccinations and the second round of doses started Monday for front-line health care workers who received their first shot back in December.
"We have our dose and you're going to see the numbers ramp up over the course of January," Lamont said.
The focus for the next couple of weeks and months is ensuring pharmacies are prepared to start giving shots out to those a part of phase 1B.
"We ought to see that over the next two to three weeks, I know we're trying to line that up right now as we move into those who are apart of 1B," Lamont said.
Hartford HealthCare is one of the health care systems in the state working with the Department of Public Health. So far, the system has administered 13,000 vaccines and is administering 2,000 COVID-19 vaccines on a day-to-day basis.
"We're working closely with DPH and we're committed to really pushing the vaccines through our clinics on a weekly basis," said Eric Arlia, senior director of pharmacy with Hartford HealthCare. "We are already starting to see things pick up, right now we're on week four of distribution and we've received about 7,000 doses and we have seven clinics opened in our acute care facilities."
Even with the goal to get people their vaccines, logistics and supply are the two primary issues for the health care system.
"The Pfizer vaccine is a very complex vaccine and in order to store the dosages, you have to have the facilities and not every facility has the capability," said Keith Grant, senior system director of infection prevention with Hartford HealthCare. "We are working to have enough supply to meet the demand and it's very challenging."
Through those challenges, the health care system, along with the state, plans to adjust as necessary.
"What we've done last week, we've modified for this week and it's much more efficient much more effective," said Grant.
