Letter to the Editor: We need more info on vaccine progress

Editor’s note: The following letter was sent to Gov. John Carney on Feb. 24.

We ask that the state timely provide relevant information on the progress administering COVID-19 vaccines.

My wife and I are both in Phase 1B. We have registered to receive shots every place we can find to do so at the earliest date possible. We have also repeatedly tried to schedule vaccine appointments with participating pharmacies, with no luck.

According to the state website, Delaware has a projected population of 979,920 as of December 2020. The U.S. Census Bureau reports 19.4% of Delaware’s population is 65 or older. That would mean 190,104 Delawareans are 65 or older. There are lots of numbers out there as to the number of vaccines available and the doses administered.  We have no data on the number of citizens eligible for Phase 1A.

On the news each day, we see statistics relating to COVID-19, which are of no practical use to us at all. To assuage our concerns about being unprotected, we need to know where we are in the queue, waiting for our vaccines.

We acknowledge that the key issue is the available supply of vaccine doses, which the state cannot control.

Here’s what all your constituents need on a regular basis: How many are there in Phase 1A? How many of those have received their first shots and second shots? How many in Phase 1B have registered for vaccines? Of those, how many have received their first shots and second shots? How many vaccine doses have been received by the state as of (the date of reporting)? How many are projected to be received tomorrow (or this week or over the next X days)?

Jay V. Strong Jr.

Milton