More than 82 million COVID-19 vaccines, nearly 11% of distributed doses in the United States, have reportedly gone to waste from December 2020 through mid-May.
Most of the waste stemmed from expired vials that had sat on pharmacy shelves for too long, spoiled doses from broken-down freezer systems, and multidose vials that had been opened but not fully utilized, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data reported by NBC News.
About a quarter of all the vaccine waste reportedly stems from CVS and Walmart due to the number of doses they administered. Another quarter of the waste came from five other pharmacies and healthcare providers — Costco, Health Mart, DaVita, Rite Aid, and Publix — per the report.
“We often have to open a multidose vial at the end of the day for a single walk-in,” CVS told the outlet in a statement. “Those vials have a very limited shelf life, which unfortunately means unused vaccines will be disposed of. The same challenge is faced by others administering vaccinations." --->READ MORE HERE
 |
| AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File |
The Government Accountability Office slapped its “high-risk” label on the federal unemployment insurance program Tuesday, saying what had been a small trickle of fraud turned into a gusher of waste during the pandemic.
Exact amounts are still unknown, but fraud estimates range as high as 40% of the roughly $900 billion Congress approved for enhanced benefits for the jobless during the pandemic.
GAO investigators said unemployment programs always dealt with lower-level problems such as people claiming benefits while they actually held jobs. But during the pandemic, a wave of identity fraud struck the program, and antiquated state systems were unable to stop the money from going out the door.
“GAO has determined that the UI system should be added to GAO’s High-Risk List,” the agency said in a series of new reports on the Labor Department’s unemployment insurance program. “DOL has some activities planned and underway for the UI system, such as creating a UI modernization office and implementing strategies aimed at reducing risk; however, many long-standing issues remain unaddressed.”
Usually, GAO adds new programs to its high-risk list when a new list is issued every other year. But in “urgent” cases Congress’ chief watchdog will make emergency updates to its list, and that’s what it did here. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
Monkeypox puts CDC back on watch for masking
FDA panel recommends Novavax COVID-19 vaccine be the fourth allowed for use in US
USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates
WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates
YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates
NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest
If you like what you see, please "Like" and/or Follow us on FACEBOOK here, GETTR here, and TWITTER here.
No comments:
Post a Comment