The Biden administration will reportedly start to offer unordered COVID-19 vaccines to states that want them, a major attempt to address regional mismatches in demand.
States will still be able to decide how much of their population-based allocations they want to order each week. They won’t be punished for failing to demonstrate high demand or the ability to get shots into arms.
But if states don’t request their full weekly amounts, leftover doses will go into a federal reserve so that other states can request up to 50% above their weekly allocations, according to The Associated Press and The Washington Post.
States like Arkansas, for instance, have struggled to fill their slots while other places are reporting ongoing progress in rolling out shots.
President Biden planned to address the state of vaccinations from the White House on Tuesday.
The administration will characterize the move as an attempt to be more flexible and targeted in reaching people now that eight in 10 seniors have received at least one dose, and the most eager have been served.
The White House had been reluctant to stray from the population-based system. It scrapped a plan by the departing Trump administration to base allocations on how swiftly states could use up their supplies.
More recently, the administration refused Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s request for extra vaccines to combat a nation-leading surge in cases.
