Alaska says 3,000 virus vaccine doses delayed due to weather

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska public health officials said 3,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine will arrive later than expected because of a winter storm that has ravaged the continental U.S.

The state’s immunization program manager, Matt Bobo, said Thursday that some vaccine appointments may be postponed until next week.

The doses were supposed to reach 21 different providers.

Kelsey Pistotnik, another state vaccine official, said the delay occurred at a somewhat fortuitous time — a part of the month in which the state was already expecting a smaller vaccine shipment.

“Obviously, we never want this to happen, but this particular timing in the month, it really did hit at a better time for us,” Pistotnik said.

State officials said they have been communicating with officials at the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the delay.