JANESVILLE, Wisconsin – Mercyhealth says it has yet again to reschedule thousands of COVID-19 vaccination visits after receiving zero new doses of the vaccine for a second consecutive week.
The health care provider said it had to contact 605 people in Winnebago County who had vaccinations scheduled for Wednesday and 470 Rock County patients who were scheduled for Thursday to cancel appointments after receiving no new ones. first dose of the vaccine.
Mercyhealth says those waiting for their second dose will still be able to get it as planned.
“We apologize for the inconvenience. We will contact the affected individuals as soon as we have more supplies. We are anxious and ready to provide the vaccine when we receive supplies from the state,” said Mercyhealth pharmacy director Don Janczak in a statement. ” We hope that the supply will increase in the near future. ”
This is the second consecutive week that Mercyhealth has not received any new doses. The vaccine supply is provided by the federal government, then allocated and sent by the state. Vaccines request multiple vaccines for each shipment, but may not receive the full amount – or, in the case of Mercyhealth, none.
Mercyhealth says it schedules appointments based on the amount of doses it has historically received, but that could change in the short term.
Last week, the provider told News 3 Now they order about 2,000 doses from the state each week. When asked about Mercyhealth and other hospitals not receiving new doses, DHS officials warned them against making assumptions about how many doses would be available.
“I know it has been a challenge for a number of health systems that have made assumptions about how many vaccines they will receive and have scheduled appointments that should be canceled,” said DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk during an interview last week . “But that is part of the role of living in a world of scarce resources.”
Mercyhealth says its vaccination sites in Walworth County, Wisconsin and Harvard, Illinois, have not been affected, and all consultations at these facilities will be maintained.
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