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Demand for vaccines in Maui continues to exceed supply, forcing a temporary suspension to secure new appointments for first doses at Maui hospital.
Maui Health, which runs the vaccination clinic at Maui Memorial Medical Center, has also postponed appointments for people who were seeking a first dose and had already secured an appointment between January 17 and February 7, 2021.
“Unfortunately, last night we were informed by the State that we will not receive the shipment scheduled for this weekend and next week. For this reason, we have made the difficult decision to postpone all appointments for the first dose scheduled between Sunday January 17th and Sunday February 7th. “
Tracy Dallarda, Director of Communications for Maui Health / Maui Memorial Medical Center
“It’s about making sure we have enough vaccine to deliver the second dose to those who will need it over the next few weeks,” said Tracy Dallarda, director of communications for Maui Health / Maui Memorial Medical Center.
Affected people affected by this first dose deferral were notified by email that they used to register for their appointment. They have since been placed on a priority list to receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine as soon as Maui Health is able to secure and maintain an adequate supply of the state’s vaccines.
“As soon as we receive confirmation that enough vaccines are on their way to Maui Health, we will send these people a link to a private booking portal (NOT the CDC’s VAMS site) to reschedule an appointment,” said Dallarda. .
Maui Health has also established new clinic hours for those who are already expected to receive their second dose. These people should have received an email with more specific instructions.
The changes include:
- The Maui Health clinic at Maui Memorial Medical Center will be closed on Sunday January 17 and Monday January 25.
- As of Monday, January 18, the Maui Health Immunization Clinic will operate ONLY for previously scheduled Pfizer second dose immunizations.
- The new clinic hours are 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday ONLY.
Additionally, Maui Health is not accepting any new appointment requests at this time.
If a Maui resident has previously submitted a meeting request form and is still having issues, they are prompted to send an email [email protected] with
their concerns.
“While we don’t schedule new appointments, we can help you set up the account when new appointments are available,” said Dallarda. “We know it’s frustrating. Please know that we are a tireless advocate for Maui to ensure that we receive our fair share of vaccines so that any member of the Maui community who wishes to be vaccinated can be.
The Maui Memorial Medical Center Hospital Immunization Clinic has a special help desk appointment booking system that allows kupuna to schedule when volunteers can participate in the online registration process. There is also a dedicated phone number and email address to answer questions and help them navigate the dating process.
The Maui Health Community Immunization Clinic began on Friday, January 8, and since then it has immunized over 3,000 community members and over 1,000 additional staff and providers.
The hospital receives 1,500 requests per day from people wishing to be vaccinated; for a total of 11,000 people (as of Thursday, January 14) who had entered the system and were awaiting appointments.
The hospital is the only Maui site that has expanded vaccinations to those in Priority Group 1B as part of the CDC’s prioritization schedule.
The other clinic in Maui is a drive-in site, operated by the Health Unit of the Maui District Health Department at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. The college distribution point or POD site is considered a “closed POD” that is not open to the general public or to many members of the larger 1B group. He is still working to meet immunization requests from the highest priority 1A group as well as first responders.
The UHMC site struggled last week, when an unexpected crowd showed up on Monday and Wednesday, including those who were not in the site’s priority group. Some were refused and were asked to wait for further instructions.
Those who do get vaccinated should note that the hospital vaccination clinic currently only offers Pfizer vaccine; while the UHMC pop-up clinic is currently administering the Moderna vaccine.
“Your first dose, if it’s with Moderna, your second dose has to be with the same manufacturer, Moderna. If you come here (to the hospital) and your first dose is Pfizer, your second dose must also be Pfizer, ”said Chrissy Miller and Employee Health Nurse Manager at Maui Health.
Lt. Gov. Josh Green has estimated the vaccine demand at “about 3 to 1, or even 5 to 1” now. “And that will turn in a better direction for us quickly as we receive our wave of vaccines, which we were promised in the third week of January, which we are currently heading.
“I think your tipping point will be around, if I were to guess, on March 1 when all of a sudden it seems to have struck a balance where the right number of people are asking for the right number of vaccines. It’s not really that far, ”Lt. Gov. Green said during a visit to Maui on Thursday.
Updates will be provided as they become available.
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