The federal government has warned state leaders in Pennsylvania that deliveries of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine could be delayed thanks to that snowstorm that hit the region Sunday and Monday.
"The vaccine is shipped directly from manufacturers to the vaccine providers. The federal government, which oversees the distribution, informed vaccine providers yesterday that deliveries were being delayed yesterday due to the snow. We are told that deliveries resumed today," said Barry Ciccocioppo, COVID-19 Press Secretary for the PA Department of Health.
Vaccine appointments are in such high demand across the state health care providers have reported receiving patients who have crossed counties and driven hours just to get their shots.
Ciccocioppo advised people who missed their appointments due to the inclement weather to reschedule by contacting the provider where their appointment was originally scheduled.
"The panic was definitely contagious because I was panicking," said Pharmacist Lynford King of The Medicine Shoppe about the impact of the storm. "We had a lot of people calling worried that they wouldn't get their vaccination because of the impending snowstorm."
King said about half of the store's COVID-19 vaccination appointments were cancelled by the storm between Monday and Tuesday. Thankfully, King said he was able to reschedule all of those missed appointments and he didn't have to throw any vaccine out. But, he said it did take some maneuvering as the computer system set up for scheduling automatically refills appointments with different people when a cancellation happens.
"Thankfully we were able to take care of everyone and kind of jockey around with the schedule and move people into different slots the next day," he said.
When FOX43 spoke to King on Tuesday he was still waiting for his next delivery of doses to arrive. He did not know if it too would be delayed because of the storm.
"We got our shipment last week on Tuesday and we didn't get any shipment so far today. I'm not really sure when it's coming. I usually get an email when it's coming,' he said.
The Medicine Shoppe conducts nearly 10 vaccinations per day, depending on the doses that are delivered to the pharmacy. The waiting list for a vaccine at the pharmacy is nearly two months long.
It's no wonder, therefore, King said that 'people were scared, I was really scared' that people would lose their appointments or that doses would have to be thrown out. King, once again expressing how thankful he was that everything at his store worked out.
"It's desperate. I compare it to Beatles concert tickets," he said. "I think they would camp out if they could just to get them."
WELLSPAN
Wellspan reports the snowstorm made the memorable moment of getting the COVID-19 vaccine even more memorable for many.
"I know the only time our sites closed was at the end of the day yesterday (after 6:30pm for those that were still open, and many sites accommodated those patients earlier in the day). And there were no cancellations prior to that on Sunday or Monday," said Ryan Coyle, spokesperson for Wellspan who added to date Wellspan has administered more than 35,000 doses in Southcentral PA.
Wellspan reported many patients were determined to get their vaccine despite the snowstorm. Read their stories about their experience driving through the storm to get their shots here.
PENN STATE HEALTH
"Penn State Health is in direct contact with patients whose scheduled vaccine appointments were affected by inclement weather and getting them rescheduled in an expedited manner," said spokesperson Barbara Schindo.
Penn State Health did not have exact numbers on the amount of vaccine administered over the storm or the amount of appointments that were rescheduled.
Penn State Health is reaching out to offer vaccinations to patients who meet the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s criteria for phase 1A vaccination.
"We look forward to establishing community vaccination sites for the communities we serve in mid-late February," said Schindo.
WEIS MARKETS
"For customers with Monday immunization appointments who were not able to make it due to weather, we are rescheduling for Wednesday. If they cannot make to a scheduled Tuesday appointment, we’re rescheduling for Thursday. Customers called the store and we also reached out if someone did not come in at their scheduled appointment time," said spokesperson Dennis Curtin.