Vaccinations ‘may take longer than everybody wants’
New COVID clinics say they are limited by their supply
GREENWICH — Three clinics to vaccinate against COVID-19 open this week in Greenwich but health officials aren’t sure if supply will meet the demand.
Monday, Greenwich Hospital opened a clinic on the Brunswick School campus on King Street and Family Centers Inc. began providing vaccines at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center. And on Tuesday, the town’s Health Department will begin providing vaccinations at Town Hall.
Greenwich Hospital’s clinic launched smoothly on Monday morning with 251 appointments scheduled through the day. The Civic Center opening went “without a hitch,” organizers said.
Among those who stood in line was Nancy DeFilippo, who said she was very eager to get the shot and very happy to get scheduled.
“They’re making it very easy here in Brunswick,” DeFilippo said. “I’m hoping to get some normalcy back in my life. I’ve been very serious about isolating and being careful. I’m 78 and I don’t want to get very, very sick. It’s kind of a relief today just to know I’m on that path now.”
However, all three locations are dealing with the same challenge taking place across the country: insufficient supply of the vaccine to meet the demand of people who are eligible, health officials said.
Late last week, Greenwich Hospital had to temporarily suspend making new vaccination appointments for its Brunswick School and 500 West Putnam Ave. clinics so it could make sure it had enough to provide both shots to everyone who had already signed up.
On Monday, Greenwich Hospital President Diane Kelly said the hospital’s website at ynhhs.org/covidvaccine was taking appointments again but limited by the supply of vaccine.
“We’re going to have to go day by day when we open up appointments for January,” Kelly said. “We are opening them as we get clarification of how much allocation (of vaccine) we’re going to receive for the month of February.”
Kelly suggested eligible people looking to make their appointments check the website every day.
“When we have the ability to get the vaccine out, we definitely want to fill that up,” Kelly said. “But we also have to be mindful that we’re working in the collaboration with the state and that there are challenges that everyone is experiencing.”
“The state does not have a lot of vaccine coming in ... to deal with the demand so all vaccination sites may not be getting what they ordered,” Baisley said. “The vaccination sites, including ours, can keep up with the demand if there was enough vaccine. Vaccine production and distribution cannot keep up with the population demand in the U.S. This affects all states including Connecticut.”
What about when Phase 1b expands?
Health officials also said they worried that expanding vaccination during Phase 1b — when seniors 65 to 75, younger people who are vulnerable to the virus because of co-morbidities and those deemed “essential workers” in Connecticut — could mean the existing vaccine supply will not be able to meet those numbers.
Kelly said the entire Yale New Haven Health System is working with the state and waiting for guidance on when to offer those vaccinations and what defines an essential worker.
“I believe we will have what we need (to vaccinate people in Phase 1b),” Kelly said. “I just don’t know the timing. It may take longer than everybody wants because we all want to get past this collectively. But I know everyone at every level, whether state or nationally, are working very hard to get this vaccine out.”
Production of the vaccine is expected to ramp up given the order signed last week by President Joe Biden under the Defense Production Act but it is unclear when those vaccines will be getting to the states.
Dennis Torres, Family Centers’ chief health officer, said Family Centers orders its vaccine a week in advance for its appointments, but there is no guarantee the site will get the vaccine it ordered: Last week they requested 300 vaccines but were given 200.
“You don’t really know of what you ask for how many you’re actually going to get until the end of the week,” Torres said. “It makes it a little harder for planning. I think once they open the faucets we can start booking out further in advance because the last thing we want to do is cancel appointments. We only create appointments for vaccine they have.”
He suggested that people use the VAMS system to get enrolled and accepted as eligible, which would allow them to see available appointments anywhere, not just in Greenwich.
For those who want specifically to go to the civic center, Torres said appointments will be posted by them on Friday and people can search the Greenwich zip code on the VAMS system for Family Centers.
A busy first day
The clinic on at Brunswick is being held in the gymnasium. On Monday, large road signs on King Street alerted people where to go and police officers were providing information. Once inside, there was a temperature screening and registration before people got their vaccinations.
Masks were mandatory for all and seats were wiped clean after each use. People receiving the vaccine were asked to remain for observation for 15 to 30 minutes to make sure there were no side effects.
The hospital also had set up a place for pictures by a sign saying “I did my part to #CRUSHCOVID by getting vaccinated.”
At mid-morning Monday, recipients of the vaccine and hospital employees said they felt things were running smoothly. All the hospital employees assigned to the clinic have received their vaccinations as part of Phase 1a in the state, which covered front-line medical workers.
“My son-in-law is a doctor and my daughter is an EMT and we’ve been very restricted,” said Jayne Schiff, in line for a vaccination
Monday. “It’s been difficult. We’ve had to Zoom a lot of holidays . ... I’m not going to be running around even after getting vaccinated.”
Westport resident John Backus said he came to Greenwich very eagerly Monday, taking the first appointment he could get in the region. The 91-year-old man said
he didn’t want to hesitate.
“I couldn’t wait to get it,” Backus said. “The whole process was very easy. I called this morning to get this appointment and when I heard they had this appointment here this morning, I told them ‘sold!’ ”