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Drugstores challenge Newsom placing blame on them for unused vaccine doses

California Gov. Gavin Newsom looks on before speaking to members of the media during a press conference at Petco Park, February 8, 2021 in San Diego. (SANDY HUFFAKER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Gov. Gavin Newsom stood in front of local government leaders and lawmakers in Fresno on Friday and told Californians the state had taken swift action to reallocate thousands of COVID-19 vaccine doses from a provider who “was not administering the vaccines quickly enough.”

“And yes, forgive me, we decided to send them to the Valley because you deserve them,” Newsom added.


It wasn’t the first time Newsom had publicly said the state was asserting its authority to ensure life-saving doses were not languishing on drug store shelves, going unused. Last month, Newsom said the state reallocated 200,000 vaccine doses because a large pharmacy chain was “sitting on those doses.”

But in those two instances, the companies in question are objecting to Newsom’s comments, saying it was their own efforts that flagged the unused doses for the state.

Read the full story at LATimes.com.