SOUTHFIELD, MI – A significant decline in Michigan’s Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine award forced Beaumont Health to cancel 1,884 second-dose appointments scheduled for Feb. 18, the health system said Monday.
The decline in allocation was unexpected, the health system said Monday, and staff are working to automatically recreate all canceled appointments to one week later at the same time and on the same day of the week.
Appointments depend on the state providing enough vaccines, Beaumont staff said in a release. In addition, the healthcare system will no longer be able to open Pfizer vaccine appointments against the Beaumont service center until additional vaccine has been received.
‘We are so disappointed that we had to cancel these appointments. Our teams worked with the state around the clock and throughout the weekend to try to secure the second dose of vaccine we requested, ”said Carolyn Wilson, chief operating officer of Beaumont. “We remain committed to vaccinating patients as soon as possible as soon as we receive our administered doses of vaccine.”
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According to a news release, Beaumont is prepared to administer 50,000 doses per week, but this week it will only do 2,200, which is all the state provided in its recent award. The health system has administered more than 100,000 doses since the vaccine became available two months ago.
Beaumont says she is working diligently to get more vaccine from the state to give the necessary second dose in a timely manner. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the vaccine remains effective when patients receive the second dose up to six weeks after the first dose.
Beaumont says patients who will receive their first dose of Moderna vaccine in Dearborn will not be affected by the cancellation.