DETROIT – The Wayne County Public Health Division must reschedule vaccinations for Tuesday, Jan. 19 and Wednesday, Jan. 20 because of a depleted supply of vaccine received from the State of Michigan, according to county health officials.
People with appointments for first-dose vaccinations currently scheduled for both those days will be notified individually of their new appointment time by the Wayne County Public Health Department.
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Rescheduled vaccinations will take place at Wayne County’s new vaccine site inside Schoolcraft College’s Vista Tech Center located at 18600 Haggerty Road in Livonia.
The rescheduling affects about 1,400 people, mostly healthcare workers, first responders and essential workers who are part of the Phase 1A group on the vaccination priority list.
Individuals scheduled to receive their second dose, or those who will be vaccinated at a local hospital, nursing home, or long-term-care facility are not impacted.
Wayne County must reschedule and relocate its vaccination site because it has depleted its supply of the Pfizer-made COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Wayne County, the state stopped supplying it with the Pfizer vaccine for first doses and is for now only supplying the Wayne County Public Health Division with the Moderna vaccine for new first doses.
“Moderna vaccine doses must be handled differently than the Pfizer vaccine. The county will not receive its supply of the Moderna vaccine from the state until sometime Tuesday, making it too late to handle scheduled vaccinations that day or Wednesday,” read a statement from Wayne County on the supply shortage.
Wayne County vaccinations for people in Phase 1A and essential frontline workers in Phase 1B will resume Thursday at VistaTech Center at Schoolcraft College.
Additional vaccination sites will be announced as more vaccine becomes available from the State of Michigan, the county stated.
“We ran out of Pfizer vaccine on Saturday afternoon,” said Wayne County Chief Health Strategist Dr. Mouhanad Hammami. “We know this is frustrating and we apologize for the inconvenience. Our team is working hard to vaccinate as many residents as we can but the supply shortage from the State of Michigan remains a challenge.”
More: Michigan counties canceling appointments amid COVID-19 vaccine shortage
Wayne County currently is vaccinating healthcare workers, EMS, and essential employees in Phases 1A and 1B.
Seniors over 65 or older should schedule a vaccine through their health system, not the county health department.
K-through 12 teachers will receive vaccinations through their school districts in partnership with Wayne RESA.
Other groups in Phase 1B must register online or through their employers to request a vaccine appointment time from the Wayne County Public Health Department.
More information about vaccine availability or scheduling updates is available online here.