After rough rollout, vaccine ‘floodgates are going to open up’

STAMFORD — At the helm of a wide circle of city officials, Sen. Chris Murphy listened as each explained how the COVID-19 vaccine rollout was going in Stamford.

Murphy’s visit Thursday to Optimus Health Care’s testing site on the UConnStamford campus had started with talk about the city’s COVID-19 testing operations. But conversation pivoted quickly to vaccine planning as city officials prepare to confront a tide of inquiries expected in the coming days.

The Lamont administration has announced that Phase 1B of its vaccination protocol would begin Monday. Residents 75 and older can, according to the state’s latest guidelines, start registering for the vaccine immediately.

“It’s a big launch and we know the first couple of weeks are going to be real funky,” said Mayor David Martin. “Everyone is going to hear in the media that it’s available, but we don’t have the infrastructure or the vaccine to” meet expected demand.

Initially, 1B will include frontline essential workers and those who live or work in congregate settings, in addition to residents 75 and older. In coming weeks, it will expand to include residents between the ages of 65 and 74 and those between 16 and 64 with underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

“The floodgates are going to open up,” said Optimus Health Care CEO Ludwig Spinelli.

Stamford began vaccinating residents 75 and older late last week to prevent unused doses from expiring. More formally, the city on Tuesday announced that it would start vaccinating those 75 and older immediately.

“We vaccinated 75-plus people if (and) when there was an excess dose due to canceled appointments,” said Arthur Augustyn, a spokesman for the city. The city assigns vaccine appointments through a randomized system.

Eligible residents can register for the COVID vaccine in at least three different ways: through the city’s own system, through the Centers for Disease Control’s Vaccine Administration Management System , or by calling the city’s Senior Center directly (203977-5151).

Martin said Stamford was among the first communities in Connecticut to begin vaccinating older adults.

Immediately after the city announced its operation, it received an influx of calls from residents, all interested in getting vaccinated as soon as possible.

Augustyn said that, so far, more than 4,800 people have filled out the city’s registration form. The city receives two new registrations every minute, and 60 percent of those registrations come from adults 75 or older.

But that has presented a new problem for the city: insufficient supply.

“I’ve got the people, I’ve got the location, I’ve got the staff,” Martin said to Murphy. “I don’t have the vaccine.”

While Stamford Health can inoculate people with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the Health Department lacks the freezers necessary to keep doses cold. Instead, Stamford uses the Moderna vaccine, which the city receives in smaller quantities.

Of the doses it currently has, the department expects to run out by the end of the week.

Director of Health Dr. Jennifer Calder estimates that the Health Department will have vaccinated 300 people over the age of 75 by the end of the week.

“It’s discouraging to hear that we weren’t more ready,” said Murphy. “But again this is mostly a question of quantity, and that’s a federal problem.”