The Allegheny Health Network has stopped scheduling appointments for covid-19 vaccines because of a supply problem, hospital leaders said on Friday, as other health systems in the region faced increasing demand for vaccines.
Excela Health officials said they cannot expand the distribution of vaccines to people who are not healthcare professionals.
AHN has administered about 35,000 doses since mid-December and has scheduled another 26,000 with its current vaccine supply. For the time being, the leaders said, the entire supply chain has been allocated and can no longer accommodate additional commitments for now.
“At the moment,” says a message on the network’s website, “AHN has programmed all of our covid-19 vaccines available for distribution and we have temporarily disabled our programming portal.”
The message explains that the chain expects to receive more doses in the “near future” and is in the process of transition to a new website portal for scheduling.
The network’s disclosure comes just days after Pennsylvania health officials expanded the vaccine’s eligibility in Phase 1A to include people over 65 and those aged 16 to 64 with certain underlying health conditions, including cancer, lung disease chronic obstructive, diabetes and many others.
Since the state’s announcement on Tuesday, hospital leaders in various systems in the region have been talking about how the state’s supply cannot match such a broad expansion. Meanwhile, the systems are receiving thousands of emails and calls from the newly qualified.
AHN quickly released a statement on Tuesday explaining that the network would expand eligibility only to people over 75 and those who received cancer treatment last year.
Friday’s announcement appears to be yet another measure to manage the network’s available offer.
“We understand the public’s concern and frustration with the limited availability of the vaccine and we thank everyone for their patience as we work hard to distribute the vaccine as quickly and efficiently as possible, when we have it to those who need it most,” officials said in a statement. communicated.
AHN is not the only health system in the region that faces a flow of people waiting to be vaccinated, now that eligibility has expanded.
The UPMC also does not schedule vaccinations for doses it does not have, a spokeswoman said. The process is to collect vaccination requests, along with information to determine where applicants fall under Phase 1A eligibility.
“We then contact those who have priority in our priority and schedule them for vaccination with the supply we already have or have been informed that we will receive it,” said spokeswoman Taylor Andres. “We found that this process better manages community expectations and mitigates disappointment, because we don’t have to cancel vaccinations already scheduled.”
In Westmoreland County, Excela Health is developing a new approach to accepting new patients and determining vaccine eligibility. But, for now, the number of health professionals who need the vaccine has “exceeded” the vaccine supply.
“We are currently unable to offer vaccine to other individuals,” said chief physician Carol Fox. “We are investigating what options may exist for additional distribution sites and how best to determine the underlying conditions. There is a lot of logistics to work with, and everything depends on our ability to receive vaccines from the state ”.
Teghan Simonton is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Teghan at 724-226-4680, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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