White House rebuffs calls for more COVID-19 vaccines by states

April 9, 2021 KT1 US 0

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 18: COVID-19 vaccine is stored at -80 degrees celsius in the pharmacy at Roseland Community Hospital on December 18, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. The hospital began distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to its workers yesterday. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 18: COVID-19 vaccines are stored at -80 degrees Celsius in the pharmacy at Roseland Community Hospital on December 18, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:34 PM PT – Friday, April 9, 2021

The White House rejected requests by states to send more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the White House coronavirus response coordinator, there are plans to send additional staff to help with vaccinations, but no additional doses will be sent.

Michigan is one such state which has been calling for more vaccines, with its Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pressing Joe Biden for more doses due to the spike of COVID-19 cases in her state.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer introduces Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden to speak at Beech Woods Recreation Center in Southfield, Michigan, on October 16, 2020. - Joe Biden on October 16, 2020 described President Donald Trump's reluctance to denounce white supremacists as "stunning" in a hard-hitting speech in battleground Michigan with 18 days to go until the election. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shown at Beech Woods Recreation Center in Southfield, Michigan, on October 16, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

“We’ve been speaking with the administration in D.C. regularly for the last few days and will continue to do so. Anyone who looks at a COVID map knows that Michigan is unquestionably a national hot spot right now,” Whitmer stated. “My team and I have been in regular conversation with the National COVID response team and we have asked for more vaccines.”

The White House coronavirus coordinator defended turning down the request for more doses, saying the vaccine is still needed by tens of millions of people all over the country.