States report vaccine shortages and cancel appointments

Jan 21, 20210

Yuki Iwamura, Associated Press count

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2021, file photo, a nursing home resident receives the COVID-19 vaccine by a CVS Pharmacist at Harlem Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, a nursing home facility in Harlem neighborhood of New York. The push to inoculate Americans against the coronavirus is hitting a roadblock: A number of states are reporting they are running out of vaccine, and tens of thousands of people who managed to get appointments for a first dose are seeing them canceled.

NEW YORK - The push to inoculate Americans against the coronavirus is hitting a roadblock: A number of states are reporting they are running out of vaccine, and tens of thousands of people who managed to get appointments for a first dose are seeing them canceled.

Karen Stachowiak, a first-grade teacher in the Buffalo area, spent almost five hours on the state hot line and website to land an appointment for Wednesday, only to be told it was canceled. The Erie County Health Department said it scratched vaccinations for over 8,000 people in the past few days because of inadequate supply.

"It's stressful because I was so close. And my other friends that are teachers, they were able to book appointments for last Saturday," Stachowiak said. "So many people are getting theirs in, and then it's like, 'Nope, I've got to wait.'"

https://www.startribune.com/states-report-vaccine-shortages-and-cancel-appointments/600012896/