‘Frustrating and confusing’: Beaufort hospital to cancel 6K vaccinations due to shortage
Beaufort Memorial Hospital must cancel more than 6,000 appointments for the COVID-19 vaccination between now and March 30, according to a Friday night press release from the health provider.
The cancellations are necessary because the hospital placed an order for 2,000 does of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be delivered early next week, but was notified Friday it will receive just 450 doses.
There will be no near equal distributions of the vaccine in the coming weeks, either, the hospital said.
On Friday night, Beaufort Memorial closed its vaccine call center.
In addition to the canceled appointments, 6,000 appointment requests will remain unscheduled until vaccine supplies are available.
The announcement comes on the heels of a statewide push to open up vaccine appointments to people over 70 years old after an announcement by Governor Henry McMaster on Monday, and record fatalities reported in the state on Friday.
The issue likely stems from comments made by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar on Tuesday.
The Washington Post on Friday reported that while Azar had said the federal government would start to release all second doses held in a stockpile to speed up the nation’s distribution, there was actually no reserve.
In Beaufort County, only Beaufort Memorial Hospital has released details about its change in service due to the shortage.
“We understand that the national vaccine supply is somewhat limited; however, the fact that we placed these orders over a week ago and were just notified by the state that they cannot be fulfilled is disappointing,” Beaufort Memorial President and CEO Russell Baxley said in a news release.
“South Carolina hospitals have been working very hard to follow the state’s guidance to serve the best interests of our communities, but we cannot do it without consistent and reliable supplies.”
Whose COVID vaccine appointments will be kept?
Here’s guidance from Beaufort Memorial:
- All second-dose vaccination appointments will be honored, because hospitals will still get 100% of the doses they had requested for second shots, according to S.C. Hospital Association president Thornton Kirby.
- Anyone who has not received their first dose will be contacted by the hospital to reschedule their canceled appointments when additional supplies become available.
- Appointments will be rescheduled in the order in which they were originally scheduled.
- Anyone who submitted their information but did not receive a link from the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) will be scheduled, in order of submission, by the team.
“We know this has been both frustrating and confusing and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we work through these logistical challenges with the state,” Baxley said. “Please know that we are committed to making sure every person who wants to be vaccinated will be vaccinated eventually.”
The news release urged residents not to call the hospital with questions about the vaccine shortage, but rather to visit www.beaufortmemorial.org/covid19 for information and a list of frequently asked questions.
