Vaccination clinics that repeatedly ignore the state’s eligibility rules will stop getting doses, according to State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box.
“Unfortunately, there have been instances recently in which a clinic has ignored the guidelines and hosted special clinics for ineligible individuals,” Box said during Wednesday’s press conference. “In these cases, we have told the clinics that we will not provide them with any additional first-dose vaccines at this time. We will, however, provide enough to be able to cover the second doses for the individuals who were vaccinated.”
Box said the doses will be reallocated to other sites in the same county, while the state works with the offending clinic to develop a corrective plan of action. Box didn’t specify which clinics or how many are affected, but said it’s a “very localized number” and a rare instance that first doses are withheld.
She said that while she doesn’t want to be the “vaccine police,” health officials have to take eligibility rules seriously. “It’s heartbreaking to see the number of 60-year-olds and individuals with cancer and individuals that are on renal dialysis, individuals that have solid organ transplant, who know their risk is extremely high and how patiently they have waited for their time and their opportunity to open up to get the vaccine, just to have them find out that there are healthy 20-, 30-, 40-year-olds that are getting the vaccine before them.”
Box stressed that the state’s age-based approach is designed to prevent hospitalizations and save the most lives. She added that most vaccination sites have been cooperative with correcting any issues, and that many incidents have gotten blown out of proportion on social media.
