Some vaccine shipments delayed because of ongoing power issues

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Not only are millions of Texans spending another day without power, but thousands are finding out that their COVID-19 appointments have been canceled while others are delayed.

At the onset of the severe weather, the City of Houston, Harris County Public Health, and other hub providers suspended vaccine distribution because of the icy and unsafe weather conditions.

However, as the state's power instability has dragged on, vaccine shipments are being delayed.

The Centers for Disease Control detailed the issue in a statement to ABC13 today:

Due to the severe winter weather currently impacting a large swath of the country, the U.S. government is projecting widespread delays in COVID-19 vaccine shipments and deliveries over the next few days. Shipping partners are working to deliver vaccine where possible, contingent on local conditions, but the adverse weather is expected to continue to impact shipments out of the FedEx facility in Memphis, Tenn., as well as the UPS facility in Louisville, Ken., which serve as vaccine shipping hubs for multiple states.

CDC and federal partners are working closely with the jurisdictions, as well as manufacturing and shipping partners, to assess weather conditions and help mitigate potential delivery delays and cancellations.

Meanwhile, The Texas Department of State Health Services confirms it is delaying some shipments to providers.

In a statement, DSHS told ABC13: Federal partners shipped 35K Pfizer doses to eight North Texas providers. DSHS has informed these providers but shipment arrival depends on safety conditions. No Moderna doses have shipped due to the weather. Again, local providers have postponed vaccine clinics where it is too dangerous for people to drive. Postponed vaccinations will resume as soon as it is safe.

The city and county public health departments both say they will resume vaccinations once it is safe to do so. They say everyone who was scheduled for a vaccine will get rescheduled. Nobody would lose a slot.

Meanwhile, CVS tells ABC13: If a patient notifies a pharmacy that they cannot make their scheduled vaccination appointment, on a case-by-case basis our team will work with them directly to try to reschedule them.

The video featured above is from a previous report.