It is "as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable" that the comprehensive plans have not been developed at the federal level for ensuring Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19, Sen. Mitt Romney said in a statement Friday that lambasted the government's program rollout.
The Utah Republican also outlined a proposal to expand the vaccination process, which is at this point far behind the initial promises that 20 million Americans would be vaccinated before year's end.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a Bloomberg tally, only a quarter of the doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed nationwide have been administered so far.
The process is falling behind because of "unrealistic plans" that assume healthcare workers and pharmacy giants CVS and Walgreens can take on the massive vaccination plan, said Romney.
Healthcare workers are already overwhelmed with patient care, and the drugstore chains can't "save the day" because they don't have the extra personnel needed to give millions of Americans their shots or people with expertise to deal with "rare but serious reactions" to the vaccines, said the senator.
Doctor's offices, he added, are well-suited to give the shots but the rate of patients is too slow.
"When something isn't working you need to acknowledge reality and develop a plan —particularly when hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake," he said.
Under Romney's plan, the government should call on people who have carried out widespread vaccination programs for their experience.
He also called for the government to enlist every medical professional, retired or active, who aren't currently engaged in the delivery of care.
"This could include veterinarians, combat medics and corpsmen, medical students, EMS professionals, first responders, and many others who could be easily trained to administer vaccines," said Romney. "Congress has already appropriated funding for states so that these professionals can be fully compensated."
He also said vaccination sites should be established throughout states, such as in schools, and a medical professional should be present in the event of adverse reactions.
Romney further said that vaccinations could be scheduled according to priority categories and birthdates.
"Unless new strategies and plans are undertaken, the deadly delays may be compounded as broader and more complex populations are added," he concluded. "We are already behind; urgent action now can help us catch up.”
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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