If you’ve been trying to get the new COVID-19 vaccine that just launched, you may not be the only one struggling to get it.
Doctors recommend getting one dose of the latest vaccine approved this month by the federal government, but so far the rollout has been a little different.
“This is the first time that the COVID-19 vaccine comes in a prefilled syringe,” explains pharmacist Roger Paganelli.
The new booster shot is in high demand just days after batches of the vaccine arrived at pharmacies and doctors’ offices. Take Mt. Carmel Pharmacy in the Bronx, for example, they were out of their last two boxes on Wednesday.
Without enough vaccines to go around, the wait list is expanding rapidly.
“There are not enough COVID-19 vaccines on the market to help the hundreds of people who need the vaccine,” Paganelli says.
This issue arose in the last two weeks when reinforcements first came out. It’s a problem that affects mom-and-pop stores as well as large area hospitals, such as Northwell Health properties.
“We have some, we are missing the booster. We are waiting for additional deliveries. We don’t have as much as we would like,” says Dr. Bruce Farber, Chief of Public Health and Epidemiology.
The hospital system isn’t even offering vaccines to the public yet because its 80,000 doctors, nurses and other employees are first in line.
“We haven’t had enough to present it to staff and we don’t want to open and close it and open and close it, which will happen if we do it now,” Farber explains.
Producers of the booster say the delay is due to supply chain issues. Some places do have vaccines: representatives from the Department of New York City Health are directing people to their website that helps them find appointments.
Mt. Carmel Pharmacy in the Bronx would normally be there too, but for now the clinic staff is on the front lines administering what’s available, like they do for the flu and RSV, while anyone answers the phones or talks to walk-ins and take down the names of anyone who wants a COVID-19 booster.
“We’re making lists to call people back and text them as soon as we get it,” Paganelli says.
Health leaders hope the distribution process will become clearer well before the end of the year.
WHERE CAN I FIND VACCINES AGAINST COVID-19
For the list of places in the tri-state area visit this page.
2023-09-28 16:15:21
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