Approximately 2.2 million vaccines are now administered each day. Eligibility varies greatly by state, but some hoping to get a dose have found success by skipping the waiting list.
The line outside a county-run vaccination site in River Grove, Illinois, was more than 50 people deep and growing. Not a single person had an appointment. Some are not even eligible. But they all had the same idea.
“To try to get a vaccine,” Dave Moore, one of the people waiting in line, told CBS News.
“They’ll come out and let you know if they have extras or anything,” said Amy Voyles, another person waiting to receive the vaccine.
Between the limited supply and the challenges of having signed up to make a shot, until the precise shelf life of the cold storage vaccine, those waiting in line are waiting for appointments to be canceled, there is no shows and additional doses that might otherwise end up in the trash.
“Although we do,” Marley Berk told CBS News.
Some who decided to try it made hunting for an extra dose an almost daily habit. “I came on Tuesday,” Todd Nelson said.
Voyles tells CBS News that he appeared: “Saturday and every day this week except Monday.”
And medical experts agree, if they succeed, you should.
“I absolutely believe the ethical requirement is not to miss a single shot,” Dr. Arthur Caplan, director of medical ethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, told CBS News. “We’ve spent zero time talking about what to do with surpluses.”
In the queue at the vaccination site in Illinois, when the sun set and more than three hours passed, those waiting received bad news: a nurse told the group, “Hello, guys. We’re locked up.”