UNDATED – COVID-19 vaccine registration has been completely halted at Evangelical Community Hospital, and Geisinger is suspending first dose appointments. Both hospitals announced those suspensions Friday due to uncertainty of future vaccine supplies. Both suspensions are temporary, and are now in effect.
Department of Health Communication Director April Hutchinson says its not surprising given the demand is bigger than the supply right now, “We also know that we aren’t guaranteed our allotment more than a week or two ahead of time. That in itself creates a long-term planning challenge for these health systems or any vaccine provider because they could be scheduling appointments and not know if they have vaccine for it.”
Evangelical says a wait list continues to be created that will be used if and when vaccine registration resumes. Individuals qualifying for Phase ‘1A’ can access the wait list at https://www.evanhospital.com/virus or call the hospital’s hotline at 570-522-4530, then hit option 1. The hotline remains available for questions about previously scheduled appointments and more, and will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To date, appointments at Evangelical have been scheduled through the end of March.
At Geisinger, all existing appointments will continue as scheduled for the time being and additional appointments will be open once supply becomes available. Geisinger says its working closely with the state to understand quantities it can expect going forward.
