If you’re impatiently waiting for your turn to get a vaccine, you probably already know all the tricks of making an appointment. (If not, we have a guide hereBut there is another path you may want to take: the standby list. Sometimes clinics have extra doses available at the end of the day, and if you’re in the right place at the right time, you may be able to get one.
Each clinic handles this situation differently and different state laws may apply, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution. But we can give a few tips, including signing up for Dr. B., a service that says it will text you if extra doses suddenly become available in your area.
Why are extra doses sometimes available?
All three vaccines are shipped in multiple dose vials, five or six doses per vial. Once a vial has been opened, the contents must be used within six hours.
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The vaccines also have limits on the amount of time they can spend at a particular temperature: For example, the Moderna vaccine can keep in the refrigerator for 30 days, but you can’t refreeze it to save more time. In addition, vaccine vials also have an expiration date.
Vaccination clinics try to schedule their appointments to match the available doses, but sometimes they have to open a bottle at the end of the day. Or, in rare cases, a freezer can fail and staff can administer a large number of doses in a short period of time, such as what happened in Seattle with a freezer with 1,600 doses of Moderna.
Who qualifies for one of the extras doses
This depends on national priority groups and national and local regulations. Extra doses are usually given to people who are already high on the priority list, but in some cases they can be given to anyone.
How do I register?
There is no organized national or state registry (that I could find) that serves as a standby list. Clinics often keep their own list of people to call when additional doses are available, including people who signed up for a vaccine but missed their appointment, and clinic staff or hospital patients who fall into priority groups.
Health startup Dr. B wants people who want to link vaccines to clinics that have extras, although T.The New York Times reports that they only work with two clinics so farThe company wants to connect people nationwide with additional doses and says 200 clinics have signed up with the partner with them. They seem to operate within the existing state of each state priority groups, so you cannot cross the line if you are not yet eligible for vaccination
To sign up, you must provide personal information to the for-profit company, which is The says the New York Times has not yet described it business model. While many people will no doubt sign up for a shot at increasing their chances of getting a vaccine earlier, you can also just sit tight and sign up for an appointment as soon as you qualify