Beaumont Health System in Michigan cancels nearly 2,000 COVID-19 two-dose vaccine appointments due to an unexpected shortage.
The health system said in a statement On Monday, he learned of an “unexpected and significant reduction in the allocation of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from the state of Michigan,” which forced him to cancel 1,884 second-dose appointments scheduled for Thursday.
Beaumont said in his statement that he is willing to administer 50,000 doses per week, but instead will only be able to administer 2,200, that is all the state provides in its recent allocation.
The health system has said it has administered more than 100,000 doses since the vaccine became available two months ago.
‘We are so disappointed that we had to cancel these appointments. “Our teams worked with the state around the clock and all weekend to try to secure the second dose of vaccine we requested,” Beaumont Health chief operating officer Carolyn Wilson said in a statement. “We remain committed to vaccinating patients as soon as possible as soon as we receive our administered doses of vaccine.”
Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement to The Hill that “the state has been working with Beaumont Health over the past week to reconcile their second-dose deficiency. It is a pity that they chose to cancel appointments for second doses while we proceeded with the case. ”
Pfizer’s vaccine is intended to be taken in two doses three weeks apart, while Moderna’s is given in two doses four weeks apart. However, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) says that the second dose of both vaccines can be administered up to six weeks to the first.