Thousands of people who hope to receive their second dose of the covid-19 vaccine as early as next week learned on Friday that the Allegheny County Health Department does not have enough supplies for most of them.
THE health Department wait for be able for to give The second dose in The Modern vaccine for only 1,400 people on Monday and Tuesday, and has no plans to schedule more vaccine appointments until more shipments arrive.
What leaves 4,800 people – including 1,700 health and first-rate professionals – eligible for get from them second dose from The County health Department who I still can’t get one, according to data provided by County spokeswoman Amie Downs. The county says those awaiting the second shot received updates via email.
County health officials attributed the delay to severe winter storms that affected deliveries and other ongoing supply problems – including the failure to receive vaccine shipments in advance.
“Providing vaccine in Pennsylvania faces two challenges at the moment: a series of bad weather delaying shipment and a shortage of second doses,” Allegheny County Health Director Debra Bogen said on Friday afternoon. communicated. “ACHD’s priorities during this period are to create as little disruption as possible for those who need their second doses and to fully vaccinate those 65 and older who are at the greatest risk of serious illness or death from covid-19.”
The Allegheny County Health Department has received confirmation that a vaccine shipment is being shipped on Fridays, so the shipment is usually delivered the following Tuesday or Wednesday. As of Friday night, the department had received no notification, nor a shipment scheduled to arrive earlier this week.
When the next shipment is delivered, “we are expecting 2,400 vaccines designated for the second doses and 4,600 vaccines designated for the first doses,” said Downs. The contents of the first and second doses are “identical”, so “the reference to the first or second doses refers only to supply chain management,” the county said in a press release.
Public health officials say that designating and receiving the appropriate quantities of vaccines to deliver in the first or second dose is an act of continuous balancing, with providers often receiving fewer supplies than they request.
State health officials warned on Wednesday that Pennsylvania vaccine providers could run out of 55,000 first doses of Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine in the coming weeks after some providers “inadvertently used the Modern vaccine sent to them as second doses like first doses ”.
Acting health secretary Alison Beam cited concerns that some providers estimate that 30,000 to 60,000 second dose consultations may be postponed for one to two weeks.
Vaccine suppliers across the state have ordered about 200,000 modern second-dose vaccines.
Still within the 42 day window
Despite the need to postpone consultations, county officials said the second doses should still be made available to those who wait within 42 days of their first doses, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist from Pittsburgh, told the Trib earlier this week that there is room for maneuver within the timeframe for obtaining a second dose.
“I think it is essential to put the first doses on people,” said Adalja, adding that delaying distributions of the second dose by a few weeks will probably not be “a big problem”.
Because of the scarcity, people who are due to receive their second doses of the covid-19 vaccine from the county health department between Wednesday and next Saturday, February 27, cannot yet schedule appointments to receive them.
These people will receive emails with links to make appointments at the county’s Monroeville or Castle Shannon clinics “as soon as the vaccine is confirmed to be available,” county officials said.
The county health department is also rescheduling appointments at other distribution points for some 1,700 other Phase 1A and frontline health professionals.
No plans for new subscriptions
There are no plans to make new registrations available next week for those who are still trying to get their first doses. The department says it continues to make appointments “based on the limited supply of vaccine in hand”.
“This may change pending receipt of supplies or additional guidance from the state,” said county officials. “At the moment, no first dose clinic with vaccine administered or provided by ACHD will be scheduled for the next week.”
The county is moving forward with about 1,400 consultations for the second dose on Mondays and Tuesdays, including people who received the first dose at the Monroeville vaccination clinic on 25 and 26 January.
Those who need a second dose from the county health department on Monday or Tuesday and have not received a registration link by email should call 2-1-1 to register for a phone consultation.
Across the country, in early February, 96% of people who received the covid-19 vaccine received their second dose within three to four weeks, CDC data show.
Natasha Lindstrom is a writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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