New COVID-19 vaccine hard to come by in Pittsburgh, residents say

PITTSBURGH — It’s been more than a week since the CDC approved the updated COVID-19 vaccines, and residents tell Channel 11 that they’re struggling to get the shot locally.

“To not be able to get it is frustrating, but then to not be told the truth about what’s going on, and to be sort of kept in the dark, and for people to think it’s okay to keep booking people, is really frustrating,” said Kaja Dunn, a local mother and educator.

Dunn said that she’s made multiple appointments with several different pharmacies, and in every case, she’s later received a notification or a phone call stating that the appointment was canceled.

“One person said it’s a manufacturer issue, another person said ‘we just haven’t gotten them yet,’ another person said they didn’t know what was going on.”

Dunn said that she located appointments via links on verified government sites, including vaccines.gov.

The local mom told us that there are health conditions within her family, and as a teacher around multiple students, she wanted to get the updated vaccination for herself and her children as soon as possible. The repeated cancelations have been not only concerning for her, but inconvenient.

“If you’re a parent, you’re rescheduling your kids’ appointments,” she said, adding “I usually get a little bit of symptoms after vaccines, so I prepped so that I could work from home the next day... I just hope that they resolve this and realize that there are real people behind the appointments that they’re scheduling, and are more considerate about how they’re rolling this out if there is a problem.”

Channel 11 reached out to the three major pharmacies that reportedly canceled appointments on Dunn.

A spokesperson for Rite Aid sent us a statement reading “manufacturers are experiencing delays in shipping COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to recipients, including Rite Aid. The new COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be in stores by this weekend. Customers can schedule appointments through our online scheduler at riteaid.com/pharmacy/scheduler or walk-in to their local Rite Aid to see if the vaccine is available.”

A statement from Walgreens reads “Walgreens continues to work closely with manufacturers and distributors to ensure all of our sites have newly updated COVID-19 vaccines. Most Walgreens stores now have supply to support existing patient appointments. Additional appointments will be made available on a rolling basis as supply come into our sites. We refer you to the manufacturers or distributors of updated COVID-19 vaccines on specific questions regarding supply.”

CVS told us that their “pharmacies began receiving the updated COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday 9/13 and have continued to receive inventory on a rolling basis. All CVS Pharmacy locations are expected to have the vaccination in stock this week. In the interim, to identify if a specific location has received its delivery, please utilize our digital scheduler at CVS.com which shows real time availability.”

Dunn, however, said that she tried six different CVS locations, and had no luck.

“This lack of transparency is beyond a single mistake,” she said. “The fact that corporate offices are saying ‘no, no, it’s in stock’ ... it’s not right.”

Channel 11 further reached out to the Allegheny County Health Department and local hospital systems to see when they expect to offer the updated vaccine.

A UPMC spokesperson told us that they are awaiting delivery but expect to receive the vaccines within a couple of days.

AHN told us that its sites “will receive supply of updated COVD and flu vaccines this week with scheduling/administration kicking off by early next week.”

A statement from the Allegheny Health Department reads, in part, that the Immunization Clinic “ordered its supply of the updated COVID-19 vaccine last week, as soon as it was approved. However, it is still waiting for the shipment to come in. The ACHD anticipates the shot being available at its immunization clinic in the coming weeks.”

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