Tim Hugo Calls On The Northam Administration To Expand Public-Private Partnerships To Distribute Available Vaccines

Centreville, VA – Following Monday’s reports that Virginia is now ranked 50th in the nation in vaccine administration, Lieutenant Governor candidate Tim Hugo called today for an immediate expansion of public-private partnerships to get available vaccines to those that are the most vulnerable. Currently, over 500,000 available doses are going unused.

“Under the Democrats’ watch both locally and statewide, Virginia has failed miserably to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday’s reports showing that we are now the worst state in the nation in terms of vaccine administration should trouble all Virginians. With our neighbors in West Virginia ranking near the top in terms of vaccine administration, this is clearly a failure on the part of the Northam Administration.

“Governor Northam’s complete failure in effectively distributing the vaccine has resulted in our most vulnerable populations continued exposure to the coronavirus. The Northam Administration had months to plan for the distribution of the vaccine and it owes all Virginians an explanation beyond ‘the data is lagging.’

“With reports now indicating that the Northam Administration has cut off hospitals’ supply of the vaccine, many elderly Virginians are having their appointments cancelled. It appears that vaccine distribution will now be in the hands of local health departments. While I appreciate the work that these agencies are trying to achieve, this approach creates even more logistical nightmares.

“It is clear that this is not a medical issue but one of logistics. I call on the Northam Administration to immediately bring together top logistic experts and business people who are used to handling situations such as this.

“Working together through public-private partnerships we can quickly turn this around. I stand ready to help in any way I can and to identify and reach experts in the field of logistics to help the people of this great Commonwealth.

“What we are witnessing is a failure of leadership and this failure is being used as an excuse to keep our children out of school even longer. The Governor and the Democrats need to accept responsibility for their failures and look to the private sector to get these vaccines administered. The longer Virginians languish without access to the vaccine, the longer our children, our economy, and our citizens suffer.”

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