Demand for COVID-19 vaccine exceeds supply on Cape — again
Once again, demand for the COVID-19 vaccine is outstripping the local supply.
Barnstable County officials announced Wednesday that its weekly adult and pediatric vaccine clinics scheduled for Thursday and Dec. 9 are completely full.
The county will be requesting additional doses from the state to meet demand, said Bethany Traverse, communications coordinator for the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment.
She said widened eligibility for booster vaccination shots and approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11 are among the factors driving the request for shots.
"It’s likely people are looking to get vaccinated before the holidays due to travel and plans for gatherings. Also, eligibility for boosters recently opened up to everyone who completed their two-dose primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine before the end of May," Traverse said in an email.
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"All J & J (Johnson & Johnson) primary dose recipients are eligible for boosters," she said, noting that —people 18 and up can get a booster two months after their primary Johnson & Johnson shot.
The limited number of shots means county officials are discouraging walk-ins at the vaccine clinics, Traverse said.
Register for upcoming COVID vaccination clinics
She said same-day registration is being limited to older adults and people with disabilities who have limited access or lack the ability to use online registration.
"All others are urged to consider registering for upcoming clinics taking place on December 16th and after the New Year," Traverse said in a press release.
"Registering ahead of time at www.barnstablecountyhealth.org is the best way to guarantee an appointment."
The shortage of vaccines was an issue when they first started rolling out, especially when older people became eligible for the shots last winter.
Supplies have been plentiful for months, but with the advent of cold weather, seasonal holidays, an uptick in cases and the emergence of the omicron variant there has been a bit of a run on COVID-19 vaccines.
"I tried to get a booster shot before I came to D.C.," said state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, who attended the World AIDS Day Commemoration at the White House on Wednesday.
"I tried to look for an appointment via the retail pharmacies and couldn't get one before I came down here."
Demand for booster shots is high
But Cyr said the scenario "is fundamentally different from where we were last February and March" when the Cape and Islands were left out of the Baker administration's mass vaccination sites for first and second shots.
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"Particularly when we are talking about boosters, this is different from where we were last winter. It's a bit of a different dynamic."
Cyr said he's not surprised demand for booster shots is strong, given the Cape's high COVID-19 vaccination rate.
He said he is most concerned about getting children fully vaccinated.
"Let's try to get more supply," Cyr said.
The Walgreens vaccination site said there were no COVID-19 vaccine appointments available in the 02601 ZIP code for Hyannis.
The CVS interactive vaccination tool did not show availability at least through Dec. 14 for the top three sites that appeared on the page for the same Hyannis ZIP code.
CVS spokesperson Tara Burke urged people to go to the CVS site, CVS.com or the CVS Pharmacy app to book appointments up to two weeks out.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Demand for COVID-19 vaccine on Cape Cod outstrips supply
