If You Live in These States, You Might Not Get Your Scheduled COVID Vaccine

Millions of Americans are being affected as historic winter storms continue to pummel the U.S. Snow-covered roads, freezing temperatures, and power outages have brought many essential functions to a halt—which also includes COVID immunization efforts. Now, many states are reporting that some COVID vaccine appointments are being rescheduled or canceled in the wake of fierce weather conditions. Read on to see if your state has been affected, and for more on how you can prepare for your shots, The CDC Is Warning You Not to Do This Right Before You Get Vaccinated.

Many areas of the country have seen vaccination centers shutter due to icy roads and lack of electricity. But even places that aren't being directly hit with extreme weather are being affected as deliveries of vaccine doses are delayed by the intense storms, ABC News reports.

"The weather's having an impact," White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said at a press conference on Feb. 17. "It's having an impact on distribution and deliveries from the delivery companies and the distribution companies. People are working as hard as they can, given the importance of getting the vaccines to the states and to providers, but there is an impact on deliveries."

Unfortunately, those logistical woes may not clear up as quickly as the weather will. "The two biggest shippers involved here—UPS and FedEx—have major either hubs or warehouses down in the South, in Memphis and in other areas," Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, told CNN on Feb. 18. "So, we do expect there could be a blip in delivery of vaccine that is weather-related specifically," added Freeman, who also predicted that the interruption in deliveries of the vaccine may be felt "for the next week to two weeks."

Whether it's unsafe conditions on-site or delayed doses from afar, health officials in more than a dozen states have reported they have or may soon need to reschedule or cancel some COVID vaccination appointments. Read on to see if your state is affected, and for insight on where you might be able to get immunized close to home, If You Live in These States, You Can Now Get Vaccinated at Walgreens.

And for more on how the pandemic is affecting where you live, This Is How Much COVID Is Spreading in Your State.