By GRANT SCHULTE-Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Gov. Pete Ricketts on Monday defended Nebraska's approach to distributing coronavirus vaccines, saying the state won't redirect doses away from rural areas that are outpacing Omaha and Lincoln with vaccinations.
Ricketts made the comments after state officials reported Friday that 15 rural public health districts in Nebraska have already finished the first phase of the state vaccination plan, which focused on front-line health workers.
Those districts have since moved on to the next high-priority group, consisting largely of residents who are at least 65 years old and those who are vulnerable because of health conditions. Meanwhile, the public health districts encompassing Omaha and Lincoln are still working through the initial phase and won't shift to the next group until next week, primarily because they have much larger populations and more medical workers.
Ricketts said Nebraska distributed vaccines based on the populations that are most affected by the pandemic.
He said it's also important for local public health districts to get a consistent, predictable number of vaccines each week so they can plan accordingly. The federal government has delivered roughly the number of doses it promised to Nebraska, but demand still outpaces supply, he said.
"The single biggest thing they can do is get us more vaccines," Ricketts said at a news conference.
Nebraska officials said last week that young, healthy residents who don't fit into one of the state's high-priority groups may have to wait four months until they're eligible to get vaccinated. The wait time could shrink if drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna ramp up production or if federal regulators authorize additional coronavirus vaccines for emergency use.
Nebraska officials are planning to launch a vaccine registration website on Thursday that residents can use to sign up for a vaccination and be notified when they're eligible.
Nebraska has distributed 221,394 vaccine doses, and nearly 113,000 residents have received the first of two required doses, according to the state's online tracking portal. State officials estimated than 1.64% of Nebraska's population was vaccinated as of Monday morning.
The state reported 392 people who were hospitalized with the virus, a number that has declined from record highs in mid-November but is still elevated from earlier in the pandemic.
Nebraska has confirmed 182,147 cases and 1,870 deaths since the pandemic began. Most of those who have died so far were at least 65 years old.