Americans living long distances from hospitals will face steep obstacles in getting a COVID-19 vaccine in the new year, the president of an agricultural advocacy group says.
Betsy Huber, president of the Grange, a fraternal organization of farm and rural communities, sent a letter Wednesday to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn urging the federal government to provide “multiple options to vaccination,” including oral medication, for Americans to stamp out community spread.
“The question of how rural communities will fare in obtaining any future COVID-19 vaccine is becoming steadily more pressing as we are learning more of potential distribution and storage challenges,” Ms. Huber wrote. She noted that downsizing in rural healthcare over the last decade will complicate these efforts.
Since 2005, 176 rural hospitals have closed, according to tracking by the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina.
Last week, Army Gen. Gustave F. Perna, the chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, said the government had conducted “delivery dry runs” at 54 locations across the country.
The FDA is scheduled to meet Thursday to consider emergency authorization for Pfizer’s vaccine.
• Christopher Vondracek can be reached at cvondracek@washingtontimes.com.
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