The cancellations include both first and second dose appointments – the majority of which affect members in the Bay Area. Sutter Health confirms that cancellations of the second dose will be prioritized for rescheduling.
RELATED: How Can I Register for a COVID-19 Vaccine in California? Here’s how it works in every Bay Area province
It’s the last thing 80-year-old Sean Sheik wanted to hear.
“We have to resist,” said Sheik.
Sutter Health suddenly canceled his appointment for his second vaccination dose, scheduled for Tuesday morning, leaving him with no opportunity to reschedule.
After showing up at the Sutter Health clinic in Santa Clara County, Sheik received a flyer and was told there weren’t enough vaccines.
VIDEO: When Will California Achieve Herd Immunity? Maybe June, maybe never
Aside from Santa Clara, viewers are reporting the same problems in San Francisco, San Mateo and Alameda counties. One writes, “Field-checked, says all doses have been canceled until further notice.”
Sutter Health confirmed that more than 90,000 first and second dose appointments could be canceled due to a delay in shipments due to bad weather or state miscommunication.
“We have urged the state to make the additional allocations we need to avoid canceling the more than 90,000 second-dose vaccination appointments currently on our books,” said Monique Smith of Sutter Health Communications. “This is an extremely unfortunate situation for our patients, and one that can be avoided if we can receive additional vaccines.”
Sutter added that they are urging for more doses from the state and Blue Shield, claiming that the state has misunderstood their “inventory of first and second doses.”
RELATED: Biden says the US will have enough COVID-19 vaccine for all adults by the end of May
“The data from Sutter Health did not reach the state properly, so the state had thought for weeks that Sutter had a large supply of doses, but that was not true,” said Paul Markovich, CEO of Blue Shield.
He denies that the company’s transition is contributing to this delay, but says the first incoming batch of doses for Sutter will arrive early next week.
“We’re going to be administering many more doses to Sutter in the coming weeks so they can reschedule those appointments so as not to cancel them,” Markovich said.
The Blue Shield CEO added that Sutter’s situation is why all providers need to be linked with a performance management system to maintain an accurate inventory.
So immunocompromised essential workers like Shiek don’t keep waiting.
“We all go to work with a lot of anxiety, it is quite a disappointment,” said Shiek.
ABC7 News reached out to the California Department of Public Health for an explanation, but has yet to hear.
For a better experience, click here to view the full map in a new window
RELATED STORIES & VIDEOS:
Copyright © 2021 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.