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When it became clear, there would be little progress, “we had to go and find it,” he said.
In early February, with six inches of fresh snow on the ground and a nearly impassable mound plowed at the foot of his driveway, he said a Rite Aid had called to announce they had a spare dose.
“I said, I’ll take it,” said Dr Shah, who received his second dose on Tuesday. “Come rain, come shine, come snow, I’ll be there.”
But the remains are getting harder and harder to find. More people are watching and the extras are dwindling as drug stores and public health agencies better match the vials available each day with their appointment list.
Vaccination teams in Fairfax County, Va., Fill individual syringes from a shared vaccine supply to make sure they don’t crack new vials at the end of the day. Several cities have created special leftover lists to provide doses to police officers, teachers or the elderly. Columbus, Ohio, said its “no-garbage” list of 250 people was full.
At Discount Drug Mart, a chain of 76 drugstores in Ohio, immunization teams add up their doses against no-shows throughout the day and begin contacting the 25 people on their continuous availability list early. Rarely, a person who waits in the parking lot at 9 p.m. or calls on a whim can get the vaccine.
“It’s a priority to never waste a dose,” said Jason Briscoe, director of pharmaceutical operations for the company.
Often times, the hunt equates to days of frustration. Sara Stoltz has spent days roaming Dallas trying to get a remaining dose for her 64-year-old mother. They are refused pharmacies whose waiting lists are already full to 200 people. They stop at every Walmart they can, only to learn that no one has missed an appointment.
“I keep hearing rumors,” Ms. Stoltz said, with no dose behind them. “It’s like one of those urban myths.”
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