COVID-19 Vaccine Doses At Pennsylvania Convention Center Set To Expire Thursday Amid Drop In Demand
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The COVID-19 vaccine supply is now appearing to outpace the demand in Philadelphia. More than a thousand Pfizer vaccine doses are set to expire Thursday afternoon.
The lines at the Pennsylvania Convention Center have been non-existent compared to what we saw there just a couple of weeks ago. There was a time when people had to be turned away and the line stretched around the block. The wait was 90 minutes to get in and get vaccinated.
But these are now the shortest lines the Center City mass vaccination site has ever seen.
There were only a few people waiting for the doors to open Wednesday morning and then there was no line at all.
Health officials are doing everything they can to get people through the doors.
The eligibility age is now 16 and older. There's no more residency requirement. You can live or work in Philly to get your shot at the convention center. No appointment is necessary, you can walk up.
The convention center site kept its doors open late on Wednesday. It usually closes at 5 p.m. but it stayed open until 8 p.m., giving folks an additional three hours to get a shot.
After all, the rush is on. At the start of the day Wednesday, the city had 4,000 doses to administer before they expired Thursday.
Eyewitness News is told by the health department that as of Wednesday evening, the city had redistributed and administered 2,700 of those doses.
The hope is that the remainder of the doses will be used Thursday morning before they expire later in the afternoon.
"The city has a lot of vaccines in cold storage that do have to get used in a very short timeline," FEMA External Affairs Officer Charlie Elison said. "You don't need to wear a mask outside if you're fully vaccinated. So, if you needed an extra incentive to get a shot, we're happy to help."
This is a clear example of how supply is starting to outpace demand in Philly.
The convention center site run by FEMA, which has the capacity to administer 6,000 shots a day, is now only distributing a couple hundred a day.
If you need a shot, first or second dose, you can walk in for the Pfizer vaccine starting at 8 a.m. The whole process should only take 30 minutes.
