Last Monday morning, Philip Zwick said he was outside the Morris County coronavirus vaccine mega site in Rockaway, in a line with dozens of people.
The 79-year-old said he was hoping that his contact information would be added to a list that would be used if the venue had no-show appointments that day and there were missed doses. He left his name with an officer at the door, but it was in vain. He was never contacted for a last-minute photo.
“People are lined up, elderly people in wheelchairs, trying to achieve this because the state system doesn’t work,” he said. “I decided that we are not going to do this anymore. We are not going to sit there in the morning waiting. “
The mega site at the former Sears store at Rockaway Townsquare is among the sites in New Jersey that have a waiting list in case people with scheduled appointments don’t show up. But officials say the success of using this system to get vaccinated is incredibly rare, very few people have guaranteed vaccination in this way.
Demand for vaccines has far exceeded supply in New Jersey, where officials said about 4 million people are eligible for the vaccine, while the state is receiving about 130,000 doses per week for the next three weeks from the federal government. .
The county and the Atlantic Health System, which run the Rockaway site together, said police officers at the building’s door took names of people who asked to be considered for any remaining doses, but those names are kept only for that day.
They are strongly discouraging people from coming to the place without an appointment and hoping to receive a remaining dose.
Sources on the website said 1,000 people asked to be put on a waiting list this week, but only one or two people received the injection by this method.
“Since we are committed to not wasting any vaccines, on the rare occasions when, for example, someone does not show up for their appointment, the police at our doors have voided names of people who asked to be considered for any remaining vaccines that day. Only the names of people eligible for vaccination are collected and maintained for that day only. Rarely has anyone received a vaccination through these means, and unscheduled individuals should not go to the vaccination center expecting to be vaccinated, ”said the county and the Atlantic Health System in a joint statement.
The state encouraged sites to use the remaining doses instead of discarding them if reservations are made later in the day.
“Locals are instructed to administer any remaining doses expected to others in the community, instead of discarding the vaccine,” said New Jersey Department of Health spokeswoman Donna Leusner this month. “Most sites have a waiting list in the next expected category to ensure that nothing is dropped.”
Holy Name Medical Center CEO Michael Maron said that in the event that doses are left at the end of the day, the hospital contacts people on a Teaneck list of about 200 elderly people who called the municipality because they need appointments. The hospital runs a vaccination unit at the Richard Rodda Community Center in Teaneck.
It is not common, he said, because almost everyone with a scheduled scene appears. There were some days when about six vaccines were still available and they consulted the municipality’s list, he said. They planned to vaccinate 2,800 on Thursday, he said.
“We don’t waste a single dose … and it’s all about scheduling efficiency,” said Maron. “Our (scheduling) system depends a lot on the computer and text messages … Some elderly people, more than I thought, don’t have it, so they call the city … The city knows who they are and they have them on list. “
He said the process will be different next week.
A new application form will be available on the hospital’s website, which will include a question asking whether the person filling out the form can appear on the website if there is a last-minute vacancy.
“We could sort these people out quickly at the end of the day and call, but they would all be part of the same main registration list,” said Maron.
The mega site at Moorestown Mall in Burlington County, managed by the Virtua Health System, has used a similar system.
Dr. Reginald Blaber, Virtua’s executive vice president and clinical director, said they are trying to avoid incidents seen in some other states, such as Florida, where thousands of doses were left unused after thawing.
“At the moment, we have a list of first respondents, such as police, fire, EMS, that we are using for these extra doses. But what we did on our website … one of the questions you will answer is, are you available to come 15 minutes in advance if we called you at the end of the day with the first dose, ”Blaber said. “We have already seen what happened in other states and we are trying to avoid that. We are trying to learn from these lessons. “
Daniel Moise, a spokesman for Virtua, was not sure how many people were on the waiting list and how many had been vaccinated that way, but he guessed it was just a handful.
Many places, however, do not yet have waiting lists available and do not allow entry.
The Bergen County mega-site at the Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment Complex is not accepting visits and any remaining doses are reserved for team members, said Mary Jo Layton, a spokeswoman for Hackensack Meridian Health, who runs the site.
“If there is a vaccine left due to people not showing up after the appointment, we have our team members on standby who have not yet received the vaccine and who will take these doses. No dose is wasted, ”she said.
In Ocean County, the health department also does not have a list of readiness appointments.
Brian Lippai, a spokesman for the health department, said that if someone misses an appointment, it becomes available again on the department’s appointment system and is quickly filled.
He encourages people to check the county health department website several times a day if there is an unexpected no-show and a vacancy is opened.
“OCHD doesn’t have the problem of getting close to closing time and suddenly realizing that we had 10 or 15 fouls. We closely monitor our agenda and commitments throughout the day. If someone misses an appointment, he becomes available again in our scheduling system ”, he said. “We schedule our appointments very strictly, so if there is a cancellation – even at the end of the day – it will be made available at our clinic and will normally be booked in minutes.”
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Avalon Zoppo can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @AvalonZoppo.