DPH: Both COVID doses can be registered at same time

Preston Kingswood is waiting.

The Mansfield resident received his first shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during the first week of January. It went fairly smoothly, he said.

“I didn’t have any issues with the shot other than a sore arm,” said Kingswood, 77, who declined to say where he received the shot. “I play trombone, and couldn’t play for three days, but other than that, there were no issues.”

At the time of his vaccination, Kingswood said he also made an appointment for his second dose, which he was told was supposed to be administered within 28 days.

But just days before Kingswood was scheduled to receive the second dose, he was informed the clinic was out of vaccine and his appointment was canceled.

Kingswood said he was told to wait, and he would be called when a new appointment was available. He’s still waiting.

He said he’s worried, because it’s now been more than 28 days since his first dose.

But state health officials and new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people in this situation should not panic.

On Jan. 21, the CDC published updated guidelines about receiving the vaccine, including a section stating the second doses of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech can be administered up to six weeks — or 42 days — after the first shot. The guidance also states the Moderna doses should not be administered less than 28 days apart and the Pfizer vaccine should not be less than 21 days apart.

Fitzgerald said the state’s Vaccine Administration Management System has also been upgraded to allow people to schedule their first and second doses when they register.

But the extended time that’s now considered safe between doses does not appear to be widely known. Kingswood, for one, said he wasn’t aware of it.

“It doesn’t change anything,” he said. “This, to me, seems to have changed just out of convenience to make people feel more secure.”

Many Connecticut health care providers are also sticking with the original CDC guidance, according to Maura Fitzgerald, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health.

The previous CDC guidance stated the second dose of the vaccines should be administered within four days of the 21- and 28-day windows.

“We are encouraging providers and individuals to schedule second-shot appointments as close to the 21- to 28-day recommendation as possible,” Fitzgerald said. “Providers as far as we can tell are doing their best to schedule second-dose appointments in the appropriate time frames.”

But that can be challenging. Anthony Scantella, 42, said he spent hours scheduling a second appointment for his 81-year-old father, who lives in Norwalk. Scantella, who lives on Long Island, said there were no issues with the first appointment, which took place at the Norwalk Community Health Center. But, when his dad tried to schedule his second dose, he was told to use VAMS.

Scantella tried to schedule another appointment at the health center — or anywhere in Norwalk — but there was nothing available. He eventually scheduled an appointment — six weeks after his father received the first dose — in Shelton.

Scantella said he’s floored by how much time and energy he’s had to put into the process, often spending hours scanning for appointments.

“I have time to do all this,” he said. “But unless you have multiple hours during the day, English is your first language and you’re tech savvy, you’re screwed.”

Fitzgerald said she understands some patients have had issues scheduling a second appointment. Until recently, VAMS didn’t allow people to schedule their first and second appointments at the same time.

“VAMS has now been upgraded to show available second-dose appointments, so people can search for second-dose appointments online,” Fitzgerald said.

She said those having difficulty with the website can also call 877-918-2224 to schedule a second-dose appointment.

The state has also partnered with the United Way of Connecticut to help schedule appointments. There are 125 trained specialists available to schedule vaccine appointments over the phone from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.

Local health departments are also doing their part to help ease the process. Stratford Health Director Andrea Boissevain said her department is aware of the new CDC guidelines, but they are still trying to adhere to the original recommendations.