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A drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Gadsden ended after three hours with the vaccine running out.
The Gadsden / Etowah County EMA said those not already in the parking lot should wait for the next vaccination clinic, which will be announced later.
The clinic focused on first responders (EMS, firefighters and law enforcement), frontline health care providers and support workers, among others, according to the allocation plan of the Department of Public Health of Alabama. Etowah County, unlike most counties in Alabama, also extended the initial cycle to include residents over 75 and others in the second wave of vaccines.
The line to the clinic ran in two different directions – up George Wallace Drive to Interstate 759, and over the Memorial Bridge on Broad Street.
Wendy Miller, clinical director, said she entered the drive queue on George Wallace Drive at 6:57 a.m., just under a mile from The Venue, the community site where the vaccine was administered. She arrived in sight about three hours later, just after the vaccine stocks had run out.
“We got to the entrance at 10 am and they sent us away saying they had no more vaccine,” she said.
When EMA officials announced the clinic on Monday, they said they only had a limited number of vaccines. Officials said each Alabama County health department received 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine. Etowah and Calhoun countries have chosen to include more people in their first round. Most counties in Alabama still offer vaccines only to people in the first wave, such as frontline medical workers, residents, and nursing home workers.
“It would be wonderful if the Etowah County Public Health Department had an unlimited amount of vaccine to distribute, but unfortunately it doesn’t,” the original ad said. “One of our hospitals in the region has still not received the requested vaccine allocation for its health workers, so vaccine rollout is slow for all. We ask everyone to be patient with the efforts of your local hospitals, agencies and departments to try to distribute the VERY limited amount of vaccine that is being provided to your local health unit.
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