Feb. 16—Wintry weather across the country has delayed shipments of COVID-19 vaccines, prompting some providers to reschedule appointments and leaving others wondering when the doses will arrive.
Winter storms glazed Northeast Pennsylvania’s streets with ice Monday night and left snow and frigid temperatures across the Midwest. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service is forecasting another storm expected to bring more heavy snow to the region on Thursday.
All that inclement weather is starting to take a toll on the COVID-19 vaccination supply chain.
“Due to the severe winter weather that has impacted much of the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has notified several states, including Pennsylvania, that expected COVID vaccine shipments for this week will be delayed, ” Geisinger spokesman Matt Mattei said.
As a result, the health system announced Tuesday it is rescheduling some vaccination appointments.
First-dose vaccine appointments scheduled for Wednesday at Geisinger CenterPoint, Geisinger Lewistown Hospital and Geisinger Health Plan Building in Danville were rescheduled for Feb. 28.
All second-dose vaccine appointments scheduled for Friday at Geisinger CenterPoint, Geisinger Lewistown, Geisinger Jersey Shore and Geisinger Health Plan Building in Danville were rescheduled for Feb. 21.
Geisinger had contacted affected people to reschedule their appointments.
Commonwealth Health spokeswoman Annmarie Poslock said the CDC had also informed Wilkes-Barre General Hospital that vaccine distribution has been delayed due to weather, but that the delay had not impacted scheduled appointments as of Tuesday.
Other providers were still waiting to learn if they will be able to move forward with vaccine clinics set up for later in the week.
At Cook’s Pharmacy in Kingston, the supply normally arrives midweek but the staff was informed Monday of a potential delay, owner James Gaudino said. The staff was waiting to see if the doses would come in, allowing clinics scheduled for Friday and Sunday to proceed.
“We’re still hoping,” he said. “The weather kind of cleared up.”
Harrold’s Pharmacy owner Bruce Lefkowitz said he is expecting a shipment of 100 second-dose supplies for a clinic being held Friday, but that it wasn’t clear Tuesday whether they would arrive on time.
“We’re crossing our fingers and hoping the meteorologists are going to be wrong,” Lefkowitz said.
If the doses are delayed, the pharmacy will have to reschedule the clinic for sometime early next week — there’s a several-day window in which the second dose must be administered, he said. That may require doubling up the staff, but Lefkowitz said he would do what had to be done to ensure the doses are administered.
“Whatever it takes,” he said.
Pennsylvania Department of Health spokeswoman Maggi Barton said the department and vaccine providers were working to reschedule appointments “to ensure we can get vaccine into arms.”
The Wright Center for Community Health has a two-week supply of vaccines for patients already scheduled to receive their second doses, but future appointments hinge on the center receiving more vaccines this week, said Patrice Wilding, the marketing and communications content manager at the Wright Center.
The Wright Center is booked through the end of March with vaccination appointments, she said.
“We’re optimistic that we will continue to get the supply to keep these appointments,” Wildling said. “However, if shipments don’t come in this week, then by early next week, we too will be calling patients to cancel or delay their appointments, unfortunately.”
One of the Wright Center’s clinics received its shipment of Pfizer vaccines despite the snow, but they have not received additional shipments for their other clinics, she said. The Wright Center administers vaccines at seven locations in Northeast Pennsylvania, she said.
“It’s our goal to continue vaccinating the community,” Wilding said. “However, we are at the mercy of what we receive.”
According to the state Department of Health, the center’s Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn received 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, Scranton Primary Health Care Center had received no information that any of its vaccine shipments are delayed, CEO Joseph Hollander said.
“We have not been advised that there are going to be delayed shipments,” he said.
The center has enough vaccines on hand to handle scheduled appointments for the next day or two but has not looked beyond that , Hollander said.
“We will be re-evaluating that later (Tuesday),” he said.
FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY and DAVE SINGLETON, staff writers, contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: [email protected]; 570-821-2058
