DETROIT – As a result of an unexpected supply shortage Beaumont Health is canceling 1,884 second dose appointments scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 18.
According to Beaumont Health, it was notified about the significant reduction in Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine allocation from the State of Michigan on Friday.
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“The health system is working to automatically reschedule all canceled appointments to one week later at the same time and on the same day of the week, as long as the state supplies enough vaccine. Beaumont is also seeking more clarity from the state on these much needed second doses,” a statement from Beaumont Health read.
Related: 6 ways Michigan residents can sign up for COVID-19 vaccine
Most patients will receive an email if their appointment is canceled, but Beaumont will also attempt to contact other patients without an email address by phone.
“While three weeks is the typical amount of time between the two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the vaccine remains effective when patients receive the second dose up to six weeks after the first dose,” the statement continued.
The health system will not be able to open any more Pfizer first dose vaccine appointments at the Beaumont Service Center until additional vaccine is received.
According to Beaumont, it is prepared to administer 50,000 doses a week, but this week will only be able to do 2,200, which is all the state supplied in its recent allocation.
The health system has administered more than 100,000 doses since the vaccine became available two months ago, it stated.
”We are so disappointed that we had to cancel these appointments. Our teams worked around the clock and throughout the weekend with the state to try and secure the second dose vaccine we requested,” Beaumont Health Chief Operating Officer Carolyn Wilson said. “We remain committed to vaccinating patients as quickly as possible as soon as we receive our allocated doses of vaccine.”
Any patients scheduled to receive their first dose of the Moderna vaccine in Dearborn are not affected.