Weather forces DeKalb Health Board to reschedule appointments for 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccines

Decatur, GA — The DeKalb Board of Health is canceling Wednesday’s appointments for the second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine “due to circumstances beyond the control” of the Health Board.
“COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to DeKalb County Board of Health for this week are delayed due to the winter weather systems impacting a major portion of the United States, and are being held until they can safely get through the supply chain,” the Board of Health announced.
The second dose of Moderna vaccines, scheduled for Wednesday at the Doraville and Stonecrest sites, are canceled and the county will reschedule them.
“Individuals with appointments are being contacted via email and phone regarding this situation and will be informed of their new appointment date once it becomes available,” the Board of Health said. “For more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit dph.georgia.gov/covid-vaccine or call 888-357-0169.”
The State Department of Public Health also has a vaccine locator tool, which you can see by clicking here. According to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard, Georgia has administered 1.5 million vaccines so far. About 86,255 vaccines have been administered in DeKalb County as of Feb. 16.
The second doses of the vaccines can be administered up to six weeks after the first dose.
The problem is affecting vaccinations statewide, according to the state Department of Public Health:
Atlanta – Winter weather across the country is significantly impacting shipments of COVID-19 vaccine to Georgia. The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) received notification from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that normally would have arrived the first part of this week were held back by the manufacturers due to the weather.
As a result, many providers statewide, including health departments, are being forced to reschedule appointments for vaccination. Rescheduling appointments will depend on when shipments resume and when the vaccine arrives in Georgia. Delays are expected to continue through the week.
A limited number of vaccines had left the manufacturing facilities ahead of the winter weather and were assigned tracking numbers. DPH has requested that those shipments be released and delivered as soon as weather conditions permit. DPH will continue to update vaccine providers on when to expect their allocations of vaccine.
DPH is asking the public to be patient as we wait for weather conditions to improve and vaccine shipments to resume. Your provider should contact you about rescheduling your appointment. For people who were scheduled to receive second doses of vaccine and are worried about not being vaccinated at 3 or 4 weeks, the CDC says second doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may be administered up to 6 weeks after the first dose.
For updates on COVID-19, follow @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Twitter and @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Facebook.
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