LYNN — The Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) will receive only half of its requested supply of COVID-19 vaccines for the first week of March, due to a statewide shortage.
The Lynn Tech Field House Vaccine Site, a partnership between Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) and the city’s Department of Public Health (DPH), will not receive vaccines for first‐dose appointments for the week between, March 3 and March 10.
According to Kimberly Eng, the chief operating officer at LCHC, the health center places an order for vaccines every Tuesday and is informed of the allocation it will receive each Friday. However, when LCHC placed its order last Tuesday, it was not informed of the shortage of vaccines until Monday, almost a week later.
“This is really frustrating for the community because they want us to open up more appointments, but we can’t until we know that we officially have a supply allocated for us,” Eng said.
LCHC ordered 5,000 vaccines but is only receiving 2,400. It will only be getting enough of the second-dose, as opposed to its usual shipments that include both doses.
The site will be able to vaccinate patients who already have an appointment and are receiving their second dose of the vaccine.
The supply shortage unfortunately means that caregivers accompanying people aged 75 and older will not be able to receive a vaccine during this time at the Lynn Tech site.
“Unfortunately, the demand for vaccines at the state level outstrips the supply available to the Mass. DPH,” said Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, chief executive officer of Lynn Community Health Center. “Given that reality, they provided us with enough doses to complete the series for those who are due. So, if you are due for your second dose, don’t worry, you will receive your shot. What this means is that from 3/3 to 3/9, the Lynn Tech site will have no new appointments for Lynn and Nahant residents to receive their first dose. It is unclear if this situation will change on 3/10, and we will strive to keep the public informed.”
The site began distributing vaccines at about 1,500 vaccines per week on February 1, and was planning to ramp up its available capacity to about 5,000 vaccines for this coming week.
The city of Lynn is a part of the state’s targeted outreach program to increase equity in COVID‐19 vaccine awareness and access for the most vulnerable members in the 20 hardest-hit communities in the Commonwealth.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee said it is frustrating that the Lynn Tech clinic cannot receive the amount of vaccines it needs.
“This will have a negative impact on the community moving forward to get vaccinations out as quickly as possible,” McGee said. “It’s very frustrating. We worked long and hard to put this operation together, working with LCHC on the city side and with the fire department.”
McGee is hopeful that the recent approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency distribution will assist the vaccinations and put the city back in the right direction.
This is the first time since the Lynn Tech clinic site has been open that it has not been able to receive vaccines to distribute first-dose vaccines.
“Over the next week, we can’t give out any additional first doses,” Eng said.
According to Eng, LCHC will not be opening any first-dose appointments until it knows it will be receiving enough of the vaccine, which she hopes will be next week.
“It’s a waiting game,” Eng said. “If I had to guess, it sounded like they anticipate being short this week and potentially next week. So, until they say we can secure additional vaccines, we won’t be offering any additional dose-one appointments.”
She said this is hard because LCHC was planning on extending the hours of operation on March 8 to reach 5,000 vaccinations per week, as opposed to its current 3,500.
McGee said the city has been successful at this clinic because officials were very proactive early on and able to work with the LCHC to get the site up and running.
He noted that the shortage comes at a bad time, as the two entities were starting to make headway into getting the community vaccinated.
Eng and McGee are hopeful that they will receive the 5,000 doses next week and will be able to open up appointments for first-dose vaccinations again.
