Ochsner Lafayette General no longer scheduling new vaccine appointments due to limited supply

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- Ochsner Lafayette General is halting new appointment services for the COVID-19 vaccine due to supply limitations.

Patients with first dose appointments scheduled for Thursday, January 21 – Monday, January 25 will receive a notification via text, email or automated phone message if their appointment is postponed and will have priority access to reschedule once the hospital receives additional vaccines, it said.

Read Ochsner Lafayette General‘s full statement below:

Since December 15, Ochsner Lafayette General has administered more than 9,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to employees, community physicians, other healthcare workers and people ages 70 and older throughout the community. We have been encouraged by the enthusiasm we’ve seen about the COVID-19 vaccine and the work we are doing together to end this pandemic.

Like all hospitals and pharmacies across the country, we are continuing to experience unprecedented demand and a high volume of vaccine appointment requests. COVID-19 vaccine supply is a national concern, and not unlike the rest of the country, Ochsner Lafayette General’s vaccine shipments remain variable. Unfortunately, Ochsner was not given its allotment of vaccines this week.

Due to the limited vaccine supply, we will no longer be able to schedule new appointments for the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines and some currently scheduled appointments will be impacted. Patients with first dose appointments scheduled for Thursday, January 21 – Monday, January 25 will receive a notification via text, email or automated phone message if their appointment is postponed and will have priority access to reschedule once we receive additional vaccines.

Patients scheduled for a second dose are guaranteed their second dose, and these appointments will not be canceled or postponed.

We understand that our community members are eager and excited to receive the vaccine and acknowledge this news is disappointing. Rest assured, Ochsner is working quickly and diligently to be able to schedule and administer as many vaccines as possible once we receive additional inventory.

We appreciate our partners at the state and at the Louisiana Department of Health for sharing our focus on vaccinating Louisiana as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your ongoing interest and patience as we navigate this complex and evolving process. For the latest information on vaccines, we encourage community members to visit LafayetteGeneral.com/vaccine.