If you are looking forward to your turn to get a vaccine, you probably already know all the tricks to getting an appointment. (If not, we have a guide here.) But there is another path you can follow: the waiting list. Sometimes clinics will have additional 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 take one.
Each clinic treats this situation differently and different state laws can be applied, so there is no single solution. But we can offer you some tips, including registration Dr. B, a service that says it will send you text messages if there are suddenly additional doses available in your area.
Why are additional doses sometimes available?
All three vaccines are sent in multiple-dose vials, five or six doses per vial. Once the bottle has been opened, its contents must be used within six hours.
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Vaccines also have limits on how long they can last at a given temperature: for example, the Modern vaccine can spend 30 days in the refrigerator, but it cannot be frozen to gain more time. In addition, vaccine vials also have an expiration date.
Vaccine clinics try to schedule their appointments to match the available doses, but sometimes they have to open a vial at the end of the day. Or, in rare cases, a freezer may fail and staff may have to administer a large number of doses in a short time, such as what happened in Seattle with a freezer containing 1,600 doses of Moderna.
Who qualifies to get one of the extras dose?
This depends on state priority groups and state and local regulations. Additional doses are usually given to people who are already on the priority list, but in some cases they can be given to anyone.
How can I register?
There is no organized national or state record (which you could find) that serves as a waiting list. Clinics usually keep their own lists of people to call when additional doses are available, including people enrolled in a vaccine but who had to miss an appointment, and clinic staff or hospital patients who belong to priority groups.
The beginning of health, Dr. B, aims to relate people who want vaccines to clinics that have extras, although Tthe New York Times reports that so far they only work with two clinics. The company aims to connect people with additional doses across the country and states that 200 clinics have been presented to the partner. with them. They seem to function within the stocks of each state priority groups, so this won’t let you skip the line if you don’t have the right to get vaccinated yet.
To register, you must provide personal information to the for-profit company, which Tthe New York Times says it has not yet described the information Business model. Although, no doubt, many people will aim for a shot increasing your chances of getting a vaccine sooner, you can also sit down and sign up for an appointment as soon as you have chosen.