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Amazon ‘Ready to Assist’ Biden Administration on COVID Vaccine Rollout

Sean Burch
·2-min read

As millions of COVID-19 vaccines go unused across the country, Amazon on Wednesday sent a letter to newly inaugurated President Joe Biden, saying the tech giant “stands ready to assist” the federal government with its vaccine rollout.

The letter was sent by Dave Clark, CEO of Amazon’s consumer business, soon after Biden was sworn in on Wednesday.

“As you begin your work leading the country out of the COVID-19 crisis, Amazon stands ready to assist you in reaching your goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of your administration,” Clark wrote, according to NBC News, which obtained a copy of the letter. “We are prepared to leverage our operations, IT, & communications capabilities and expertise to assist your administration’s vaccination efforts.”

Clark added Amazon’s “scale allows us to make a meaningful impact immediately in the fight against COVID-19.”

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The offer comes as states across the country are letting a large number of vaccines go unused as they struggle to inoculate citizens. The five states with the lowest percentage of vaccines used include: Alabama (29%), Virginia (36%), California (37%), Georgia (37%) and Arizona (37%). The following five states have the highest percentage of citizens with at least one vaccine shot: Alaska (7.8%), West Virginia (7.4%), North Dakota (6.3%), Connecticut (6%), South Dakota (5.9%).

The CDC said about 14.3 million Americans have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and overall the federal government has delivered about 36 million doses to states and territories, according to The New York Times.

As President Biden noted in his inauguration speech, 400,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, adding the country may be “entering what may be the toughest and deadliest” phase of the pandemic.

Read original story Amazon ‘Ready to Assist’ Biden Administration on COVID Vaccine Rollout At TheWrap