Kaiser Permanente has canceled more than 5,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments for seniors who were set to receive shots in Santa Clara County due to an unexpected shortage of doses.
In a statement, the company called it “a very unfortunate development” and recognized “the frustration this causes.”
“We are continuing to do all we can to increase the supply of vaccines, working in partnership with the county, state and federal government,” Kaiser said.
The vaccine appointments were scheduled based on state and county guidance, as well as on the number of doses it had received in previous deliveries, Kaiser says.
But the company didn’t get the vaccines it had anticipated, and it was forced to cancel roughly 750 appointments last week for individuals 75 and older, and an additional 4,500 through Feb. 5 for people 65 to 74.
The Mercury News reported Monday that the unexpected shortages and canceled shots occurred even as 20% of the county health system’s appointments go unfilled.
The county has been turning away patients of Kaiser and Sutter because of the policy that patients receive their vaccination through their health care providers, the newspaper says.
As KQED's Julie Chang reports, nonprofit clinics and coronavirus testing centers that don't require insurance are seeing large numbers of people with insurance seeking tests.