CONNECTICUT, USA — People across the state who have highly sought-after appointments for a COVID-19 vaccination on Monday or Tuesday are being forced to reschedule as a severe winter storm is getting ready to pound Connecticut.
The State Department of Public Health (DPH) announced Sunday that vaccine providers throughout the state may be forced to cancel vaccination appointments scheduled for Monday, and possibly Tuesday, due to the impending storm.
DPH says they reached out on Sunday to all vaccine providers, instructing them to contact all individuals whose appointments will be canceled and provide them with assistance and instructions for rescheduling their appointments at the earliest possible date. DPH also requested that vaccine providers update the statewide vaccination website as soon as possible with any storm closures.
DPH says anyone with appointments scheduled for the start of the week should contact their provider directly to check on the status of their appointment. Information may also be available on the United Way/2-1-1 website, https://www.211ct.org, or via the Vaccine Appointment Assist Line at 877-918-2224.
The Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC) suspended all outdoor drive-through testing for COVID-19 at its multiple locations around the state. They also announced that the Pratt & Whitney Vaccination Clinic in East Hartford will be closed Monday. People are being contacted directly; CHC hopes to resume vaccinations at noon on Tuesday, but will not make a final determination on resumption until Monday.
Hartford Healthcare says that their testing site at Bradley Airport will be closed on Monday; drive-up COVID testing sites are scheduled to be open 8am-1pm. Find full details here.
Yale New Haven Health announced that their COVID-19 mass vaccination clinics will be closed all day Monday and Tuesday. Those scheduled for appointments will be notified directly and automatically rescheduled. All Yale New Haven Health COVID-19 Testing Sites will close at noon on Monday, Feb. 1 until noon on Tuesday, Feb. 2. Any patient questions can be directed to call 833-ASK-YNHH (833-275-9644)
Trinity Health of New England announced that drive-through testing sites at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford and Saint Mary's Hospital in Waterbury will be closed Monday, 2/1/21, as will the Saint Mary's Hospital COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Waterbury Arts Magnet School (16 South Elm Street, Waterbury, CT).
The towns of Vernon and Ellington have rescheduled a planned vaccination clinic on Monday. The mobile clinic at the Minhaj-ul-Quran Al Noor Islamic Center on Route 83 in Ellington. Organizers have moved the clinic's time up to 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. The clinic was originally scheduled to start later in the day but was moved up to beat the storm. Mosque members 75 and older will be vaccinated.
DPH officials also warned that the winter storm could impact deliveries and distribution of the vaccine to the state’s providers although the State is making every effort to facilitate the transport of the vaccine to avoid further disruption to appointments scheduled for this week. The Governor’s order limiting tractor-trailer traffic on the state’s limited-access highways, which begins at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning, allows for shipments of vaccine and all other emergency equipment necessary to fight COVID-19 to be delivered.