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Idahoans Share Frustrations With Vaccine Appointment Process

Mary Altaffer
/
AP Images
A pharmacist checks the batch number of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines as she prepares doses at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site in New York on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021.

On Monday, people 65 and older could start getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Idaho. But the supply is limited by the amount of doses sent to Idaho and distributed to health systems. The demand for vaccine appointments was so high Monday that St. Luke's Health System reported their slots were snapped up that morning, and Saint Alphonsus Health System had to cancel previously scheduled appointments after they didn't receive doses they were expecting.

Idaho Matters heard from more than a dozen frustrated people who struggled to navigate the appointment systems in the state, and we shared some of their stories Wednesday. We also asked our panel of medical experts to weigh in on how they state is working through this complicated vaccine process, as health systems wait for more vaccine doses to be sent to Idaho from the federal government.

 

Our panel today:

  • Dr. David Pate, former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and a current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Task Force
  • Dr. Rob Cavagnol, St. Luke’s Executive Medical Director
  • Dr. Darin Lee, Vice President of Medical Affairs and an Emergency Department physician at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Nampa

Have a question or comment for the show? Tweet @KBSX915 using #IdahoMatters

 

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