Thousands of COVID-19 vaccine appointments scheduled for Friday at locations administered by the city of Los Angeles will have to be postponed after dose shipments have been delayed by the severe winter that is wreaking havoc across the country.
About 12,500 people will have their appointments postponed, and those affected should be notified by text message, email or phone, according to a statement from the city.
“Bad weather across the country has interrupted travel and shipments across the country, including delays in delivering our vaccines,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Our city is ready to deliver COVID-19 vaccines quickly, safely and equitably, and as soon as the doses arrive in Los Angeles, we will put them in people’s arms immediately.”
But by Thursday night, there had already been some accounts of individuals fearing that supplies could end sooner than expected. At Dodger Stadium, traffic stopped for hours as the team told residents with commitments that they were waiting for more vaccine, without further details.
Authorities said the refurbishment will affect only large-scale vaccination sites in the city. Inoculations from city-run mobile clinics will continue.
The city of Los Angeles operates vaccination sites at Hansen Dam, San Fernando Park, Lincoln Park, Pierce College, Crenshaw Christian Center and Dodger Stadium.
City officials said two shipments were stopped because of bad weather: 26,000 doses, previously scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, are still in Kentucky, and 37,000 others, scheduled to be used next week, are in Tennessee.
Weather has not yet disrupted operations at LA County-administered vaccination sites, which include Pomona Fairplex, the Forum, Cal State Northridge, the county Education Office, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Balboa Sports Complex and El Sereno Recreation Center.
“Right now, there are no climate impacts on vaccination sites operated by Los Angeles County,” officials said in a statement on Thursday afternoon. “Los Angeles County continues to vaccinate qualified people who are scheduled for second doses at locations operated by the county. It is not yet known what impact, if any, will be felt next week. “
LA is far from the only person to feel the pinch when it comes to vaccines. A series of severe winter storms hit much of the United States, triggering days of freezing rain, ice and snow, cutting power and creating treacherous travel conditions.
Jeff Zients, who heads President Biden’s COVID-19 task force, said during a news conference on Wednesday that the weather was affecting delivery and distribution companies.
“People are working as hard as they can, given the importance of taking vaccines to states and providers,” said Zients, “but there is an impact on deliveries.”
San Diego County supervisor Nathan Fletcher said during a weekly update on COVID-19 that supply lines to the locations where Pfizer and Moderna made their vaccines were simply frozen at the moment. The main manufacturing facilities for the country’s two COVID-19 vaccines are in Massachusetts and Michigan.
“Both, along with the routes back and forth, have been affected by the snow and winter weather conditions that we are seeing across the country,” he said. “It will affect our ability to administer vaccines this week.”
In Orange County, officials had to temporarily close their Disney vaccination super site after an expected delivery of Modern vaccines did not arrive on Tuesday.
That site will be closed from Thursday to Monday, officials said. A location in Colégio Santa Ana will also temporarily close from Saturday, and its reopening will depend on an offer.
A representative from the California Department of Public Health could not immediately say on Thursday how widespread the vaccine was, but confirmed that California was “among the states that were affected by the delays”.
Fresno County officials said 7,800 doses of Moderna were tied up because of the weather and had not been delivered on Thursday morning.
“We don’t have a date for when these doses will be delivered at this time,” said Joe Prado, manager of the county’s community health division at the county’s Department of Public Health, in a statement. “We are working with medical service providers in the community to provide the necessary doses of our stock this week to avoid canceling appointments.”
Some vaccination appointments also had to be rescheduled in Santa Barbara County this week, after an expected distribution of the Moderna vaccine was “delayed due to severe weather conditions across the country,” officials said in a statement.