How to get on a COVID-19 vaccine standby waitlist
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) —To ensure no COVID-19 vaccines go to waste, there is now a chance for anyone to get a shot. Some health departments in Indiana are offering standby waitlists for when extra doses of the vaccine are available.
Ideally, there are no extra doses, but sometimes there are canceled appointments. The vials of the COVID-19 vaccine each hold about ten doses. Therefore, if the clinics only need five at the end of their scheduled appointments, then the other five go to people on the standby waitlist.
It’s up to health departments on how they want to distribute these extra doses. In Marion County, leftover vaccines go to frontline personnel only and there is no waitlist. However, that may change in the future.
In Fishers, anyone in the state can sign up to be on standby.
“We are contacting individuals that have indicated they can be there within 30 minutes by the end of the day. Right now we have 20,000 people on that list and we are prioritizing based on the current priority groups. So individuals who are 70 + get that first call,” said Ashley Elrod, the Director of Community and Public Relations for the city of Fishers.
Evansville has a similar process where people can register online and so does the Monroe County Health Department in Bloomington.
“We do not want to truly waste any vaccine. So our waitlist, we are following eligibility guidelines. So we are not restricting who can put their name on the list, but we will go down that list by the state’s eligibility guidelines,” said Penny Caudill, the Administrator at the Monroe County Health Department.
For Monroe County’s list, people need to sign up weekly and must be available during clinic hours. People who already have appointments can also sign up on the waitlist for an opportunity to get their shots earlier than expected. It’s a long shot, but still a chance to get that vaccine.
“A little bit like the lottery for those who are eligible. Because this past week we had 4000 names on that list, and we may have had, you know, four or six doses,” said Caudill.
“It’s in the single digits of leftover vaccines every day. But, by being able to distribute that, we are able to get those in the arms of people who really need it,” said Elrod.
If people are called to get a shot, they will also be signed up for their second dose.
The health departments said people cannot simply show up to the clinics. They will not get a shot or be added to the standby waitlist.