As the first allotments of vaccines were distributed across the country this week, neighboring states broadcast who the first recipients would be.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott informed the public on Monday that 1,950 doses were split between the State Vaccine Depot and the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington to be given to front line medical workers.
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services published a comprehensive list showing nearly 6,000 doses going to seven hospitals during the first week of rollout. Maine, which has a similar population as New Hampshire but is nearly four times the size in geographic area, named each facility receiving Pfizer doses. State officials announced that during the second week about 3,000 more Pfizer does would be handed out, along with 22,000 Moderna vaccine shots going to nearly every medical facility in the state.
Massachusetts, California, and Florida have made similar information available to the public.
Yet as the first shipment of more than 12,000 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in New Hampshire, state officials here would not disclose the details of where and how vaccines were being distributed across the Granite State.
Jake Leon, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, said the state is not saying which facilities are receiving doses and how many vaccines they will be given “out of an abundance of caution for the security of the vaccine.”
Leon said state health officials have tried to balance public awareness with public health. While he isn’t surprised many states have chosen to share the details of their distribution, he said New Hampshire is choosing to focus on security. After the doses are allocated and administered, the state will disclose more details, he said.
Vermont’s health officials said they have chosen to prioritize public awareness.
“We are committed to sharing ongoing updates with Vermonters as we make plans for vaccine distribution,” officials wrote on their vaccine planning page.
While the first phase of vaccine distribution isn’t intended to reach the masses, a new poll says the public is eager to get it.
About 60% of Granite Staters say they will receive the shots when they become available, according to a recent survey from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.
When they will receive those shots is another question, though. Wide distribution of the vaccine will likely take between six and 12 months, according to DHHS.
Even those first in line to receive vaccines have been left wondering when their shots will be available. At a roundtable this week, some nursing home administrators said they still haven’t heard when to expect their vaccines.
“We are all sitting here on pins and needles waiting for that to arrive,” said Patricia Ramsey, the owner of Edgewood Centre in Portsmouth.
A nurse in Elliot Hospital’s intensive care unit became the first Granite Stater to receive a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday morning. As more vaccines are shipped to the state, more high-risk health workers, residents of long term care facilities, and first responders, including law enforcement, EMS personnel, and will be vaccinated.
The FDA granted Pfizer’s vaccine emergency use authorization, a designation that allows the vaccine to be distributed without the breadth of proof typically required to be approved. This vaccine has been shown to be 95% effective with no serious safety concerns among the more than 40,000 people who participated in initial trials.
New Hampshire’s concern about the security of the vaccines doesn’t come out of thin air.
The international police organization, Interpol, has warned of a potential organized crime threat to COVID-19 vaccines.
“As governments are preparing to roll out vaccines, criminal organizations are planning to infiltrate or disrupt supply chains,” said Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock, adding that threats could include theft of vaccines and offering fake ones to the public.