As Ohio University gauges interest in being vaccinated for COVID-19 and vaccine administration locations pop up across Athens County, excess vaccine lists have presented themselves to the public as a new opportunity to get vaccinated.
Excess vaccine lists have been implemented by vaccination distribution locations as a way of ensuring no vaccine is thrown away.
“Part of the criteria with being a vaccinating site was to make sure you have some type of system,” Ben Holter, pharmacy manager and partner of Shrivers Pharmacy and Wellness Center, said. “If you get to the end of the clinic, and you have some no-shows or cancelations ... you (needed) a way to get those to someone. Logically, creating some type of call list where you could quickly call people and they could come to the clinic and get the dose was kind of a necessity.”
Each pharmacy has the freedom to have a backup recipient plan to ensure vaccines are not going to waste. Holter said Shrivers Pharmacy calls people who fit into the criteria based on age first.
“Essentially, we would try to call anybody that was actually in that criteria, and then work our way down the list by age,” Holter said.
The lists also depend on the nature of the vaccine, Holter said. For example, vials of Moderna typically contain 10 doses, while Pfizer typically contains six. For both of those vaccines, after the vial has been punctured, it can only be used for six hours afterward, or else it will be considered expired, Holter said.
“We obviously have a no-waste policy…unless it was some accidental thing, which is possible,” Holter said. “At one clinic, the weather was really poor for a few weeks, so we just had some people that day of (who) couldn't get out of their driveways.”
Pharmacies such as Fruth Pharmacy have kept a running list of potential vaccination recipients, should there be an opening or availability.
“If there are any extra or abandoned doses, the store is instructed to reach out/locate a new recipient with 30 minutes left on the vaccine to allow time for travel and immunization,” Drew Massey, director of pharmacy operations at Fruth, said in an email.
The chance that someone misses their vaccination appointment is random and can occur due to weather, illness or other reasons.
“Out of 300 people, there's inevitably going to be somebody that wakes up sick or somebody that can't make it or just forgets,” Holter said. “It's just a numbers game at that point.”
Fruth hasn’t wasted any vaccine doses to date, Massey said. Holter also said Shrivers hasn’t wasted any vaccine. By using the Ohio Impact Statewide Immunization Information System, or ImpactSIIS, the state can keep track of if vaccines are going to waste and who is receiving them.
“We actually have to report that to the state,” Holter said of wasted vaccines. “Right now the state has my exact inventory (of vaccines) in my fridge.”
Sometimes, vials contain more vaccines in them and will be able to produce an extra dose for administration.
“An extra dose would be a situation where the vaccinator is able to obtain an additional dose beyond the packaging from an individual vial (i.e. 7th doses from Pfizer or 11th+ doses from Moderna),” Massey said in an email.
Pharmacies such as Shrivers and Fruth receive phone calls from those who are looking to be added to an excess vaccine list. Kaitlyn Robinson, a sophomore studying communications sciences and disorders, was able to get her vaccine on March 4 at Fruth due to being on an excess vaccine list.
“They said they’d call me if…they had leftovers or something,” Robinson said. “Literally a week later, they did call me. I don’t know how many they had, but I think they were just going down the list because it seemed like a lot of people got called in that day.”
On Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced an expansion in vaccine eligibility in the state of Ohio for those who are 16 years or older. As the vaccine becomes more readily available, states are working to make sure all doses are used. Excess vaccine lists will remain as the nature of the situation changes.
“I think it’s a good idea because I don’t think they should be throwing away any that they could be using,” Robinson said.
