MADISON, Wis.– As Wisconsin inches closer to the 50% fully-vaccinated mark, many vaccinators face a new problem: keeping enough, but not too much, vaccine on hand.
Early in the vaccine rollout, so many people wanted to get vaccinated, pharmacists didn’t have to worry about wasting doses.
“Now, with less demand for the vaccine you find yourself in a situation where, if you crack that vial, you might not be able to see someone come in and get a dose,” explained Dr. Jeff Pothof, UW Health.
There are six doses of the vaccine in each vial of Pfizer, a maximum of 15 in each vial of Moderna, and 5 in Johnson & Johnson. Doses of all three must be used within hours of opening.
“We wouldn’t pull something out that can stay in a freezer for a little longer,” said Christina Gayman, a spokeswoman for HyVee. “We would use something that needs to be used more quickly first.”
Chains like HyVee, which has three Madison-area locations and has vaccinated more than 1.5 million people in its 8-state region, are rolling out new features online, where people can see which vaccines are being offered each day.
“Sometimes it’s Moderna and Johnson & Johnson; sometimes it’s Pfizer,” said Gayman.
You can do your part to help pharmacies avoid waste by calling ahead, although walk-ins are still welcome.
“At this point, our main goal is to get people vaccinated,” reinforced Dr. Pothof. “We’ll work on the details of making sure we don’t waste anything.”
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