Cone Health Reschedules 10,400 Vaccination Appointments

State will not send next week’s expected supply of first-dose vaccine.

Cone Health will reschedule COVID-19 vaccinations for 10,400 people after the state unexpectedly said it will not supply first-dose vaccine next week to Cone Health. People with appointments through Monday, Jan. 25, will receive their vaccinations as planned. These are vaccinations scheduled to be given by Cone Health at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.

Those whose vaccination appointments are rescheduled will be placed at the top of the Cone Health vaccination waiting list and notified when their appointments can be fulfilled. “We are deeply disappointed that we are forced to delay these essential vaccinations,” says Cone Health CEO Terry Akin. “In order to maintain an aggressive vaccination strategy, we need predictability and regular vaccine shipments from the state as originally promised. I am very unhappy that the state appears to keep changing the rules for vaccination allocation.”

Originally, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services called for all first-dose vaccines to be given by Jan. 25. Cone Health is on track to do exactly that through its major ramp up efforts, including at the Greensboro Coliseum, mobile vaccinations and in partnership with numerous churches and other community-based organizations across our multiple county area.  The state assured Cone Health and other health systems that if the Jan. 25 goal was met, future vaccine shipments would be adequate to cover the following week’s scheduled appointments. That did not happen. “Completely contrary to the state’s prior commitment, we were shocked to find out late last night that Cone Health’s allocation for next week is zero”, says Akin.

People with appointments to receive a second dose will receive the vaccine as planned. 

As a result of the undependability of the vaccine pipeline from the state, Cone Health will no longer schedule vaccinations until vaccine is on hand. Regrettably, until further notice, this will cause uncertainty and longer waits for vaccination appointments. We deeply apologize to our communities for this development.

Cone Health will keep the community informed of future developments.