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 While many people are getting their required second doses, the
process is taking a toll on some of the most vulnerable - older
adults who in many cases rely on family members or friends to
navigate complex sign-up systems and inconvenient locations.
Available vaccines need to be given as two separate doses weeks
apart, and confusion is further taxing an already challenged health
care system. Houston's health department on Friday told those
seeking a second dose to be patient, saying the volume of calls was
creating long wait times at its call center.
As of Monday, 26 million people in the United States had received a
first vaccine shot, and almost 6 million had the second, according
to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The
CDC has also said states lag in reporting data so it is unclear if
that might affect the dose counts.
“There's going to be some delay in getting second doses,” said Beth
Blauer, Executive Director at the Centers for Civic Impact at Johns
Hopkins University, who is tracking vaccination data for the
university’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
She had expected the number of first doses to plateau as priority
populations began to get second doses, but that tapering off was
happening slower than expected.
“We're still seeing the first dose climb which means that there's
going to essentially be an unrealistic expectation that you're going
to get your second dose, because we know that there's finite
supply.”
SECOND SHOT PROCEDURES
Practices vary. Seminole County in Florida schedules follow-ups
during the 15-minute observation period after people get their first
shots. New York's Onondaga County holds off on scheduling second
appointments until days before the shot.
After an online system showed no appointments, Stacey Champion
secured a second appointment for her 78-year-old friend Dan Pochoda
at Cardinal Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona - at 1:51 a.m. on Feb. 9. It
took several calls to get even that, Champion said.
"If they had been saving appointments for second doses, would they
really need to send people way out to the edges of the city in the
middle of the night?" Champion asked.
[to top of second column] |
 Many providers expect their
vaccine allocations to fall sharply this week.
"When this started, it was only for hospitals.
Now a smaller pot needs to be divided between
many more - the pharmacies, the mega sites and
everyone else," said Felipe Osorno, executive
administrator of continuum of care operations
and value improvement at Keck Medicine of the
University of Southern California.
People in recent days have been showing up at
USC hospitals seeking their second vaccine dose,
saying their original vaccine provider could not
confirm an appointment, Osorno said.
On Twitter, concerns about getting the second shot are mixed with
triumphant tweets by many who got follow-ups on time, without drama.
St. John's Well Child and Family Center, a network of public health
centers in South and Central Los Angeles, is running nine
vaccination clinics, and began administering second doses on Jan. 25
after sending email and telephone reminders to patients.
"We screamed and yelled" to secure second doses on top of meeting
the need for first shot appointments, said Jim Mangia, the center's
president, who added most people are returning.
West Virginia, a leader in getting shots into arms, hired critical
event management firm Everbridge to manage scheduling as it opens up
vaccinations to more groups.
"Any time there's ambiguity, that's not a good feeling," said Andy
Malinoski, marketing director for West Virginia's Department of
Commerce.
Guidelines call for a second shot of Moderna Inc's vaccine four
weeks after the first dose, while the gap is three weeks for the
Pfizer Inc/BioNTech vaccine. The CDC has said an interval as long as
six weeks is acceptable for either vaccine.
(Reporting By Deena Beasley; additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein
and Rebecca Spalding; Editing by Will Dunham, Aurora Ellis and Peter
Henderson)
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