Montgomery, Alabama’s Second Vaccine Catastrophe

By Holden Habermacher

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Alabama has gotten off to a great start, with 1,815,398 vaccine doses administered as of April 6th. However, Alabama’s vaccine infrastructure is not without its pitfalls. In early February, WSFA 12 News cited that around 1,500 people were given their first Moderna vaccine at the Main Street Clinic in Montgomery, Alabama. Then, soon after their first doses were administered, the clinic claimed it had lost the patients’ second vaccination doses. The Main Street Clinic’s negligence has caused a large uproar within Montgomery. It is extremely important for the health of all of those in Montgomery, Alabama to have the highest possible amount of people vaccinated, and to not waste a single vaccine dose. Additionally, we must analyze the links in the ever-important chain of vaccine distribution and its shortcomings to ensure it remains strong across America. As such, we must discover why this breakdown occurred, how it affected the community, and how to prevent it from happening in the future.

First, we must analyze how the situation was perceived by the people: those who received the first vaccine dose, but not the second. Ellen Habermacher, a wife and my mother who works at a local Episcopal Church, received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine on February 5, 2021. She accepted an appointment card and a specific time to return for the requisite second dose. The paperwork stated she should return on Friday, March 5th at 4 pm, though the receptionist said she could come earlier in the day if it was more convenient. She also noted that she had been told to return to the same Main Street Clinic to receive the booster shot. A few weeks later, Habermacher heard from a local teacher that the Main Street Clinic “ran out” of COVID vaccine booster doses. When she called, the Main Street representative apparently had no explanation as to how or why that clinic “ran out” of the previously guaranteed second shots. Habermacher began to worry, as the four-week/28-day window between doses given by the CDC was closing fast.

There was very little communication or assistance from the clinic about the issue. In fact, the clinic specifically indicated they did not want individuals calling them about the situation and directed them to text the Main Street Clinic to receive updates on vaccine availability. Affected individuals were told they will be contacted via text when the supply replenished. When individuals tried to get the booster shot at one of the many other Main Street Clinic offices across the state, they were repeatedly told that there were no “extra” boosters and that each location had the allotment of booster shots reserved for those who received first shots there, and then referred patients back to the place they received the first one for help. Main Street Clinic in Montgomery did not people assist in trying to get the booster elsewhere in a timely manner. Instead, they referred individuals to their county health department or suggested that they try “another vendor” if possible.

Another account of this issue came from Stephanie Hill, my English teacher at the school across from Main Street Clinic. Hill was supposed to receive the second dose of the Moderna vaccine on Saturday the 27th. At school, Hill heard that Main Street was out of the Moderna vaccine a few days before her deadline was up. On Friday the 26th, some other teachers returned to school midday after being squeezed in for a second dose at a local hospital. Hill reached out to others in the community and Main Street Clinic to find a second dose with no luck.

Both Habermacher and Hill ran into many problems while looking for their second vaccine. Habermacher first looked for a new second vaccine appointment at another drive-in clinic, but she was denied since she had not received her first dose via this method. Also, several of the drive-up clinics only offered the Pfizer vaccine, so they could not assist even her, if they’d had space to do so. Time was running out quickly and Habermacher still had not been contacted by Main Street Clinic. So, she tried repeatedly to reach them by phone, but could only reach their voicemail. Habermacher also tried to email the Main Street Clinic multiple times as their website recommended. Unfortunately, none of the email messages appeared to go through whenever she would attempt to submit an inquiry. So, in a final desperate attempt, Habermacher went to the Alabama Department of Public Health in downtown Montgomery and waited, along with many others, but they were all ultimately turned away. She continued trying and was eventually able to speak to an ADPH staff member. She then shared the vaccination record card from the Main Street Clinic and was allowed in. The ADPH staff member stated that they had just been directed to assist anyone unable to get the requisite booster at Mainstreet Clinic in Montgomery with proof. The staff member stated they had a list of about 600 or so individuals in the same challenging situation, and ADPH was doing all it could to assist.

Hill, who was scheduled to receive the second vaccine one week before Habermacher, was able to more easily navigate the road to a second vaccination. The other vaccination sites had not yet been impacted by the fallout from the Main Street debacle, and Hill was able to get her second dose more smoothly (though still not without difficulty). The Saturday morning before her appointment, Hill attempted to sign onto the Main Street website, even though she had begun to hear of others being unable to schedule their second doses this way. The website wouldn't even allow her to sign in. She was upset and, along with her husband, began searching the internet to find a second vaccine. They checked Walmart, where Hill’s husband received the first vaccine, and noticed that Walmart had an open vaccine schedule for the next week. Hill noted that the Walmart pharmacist was surprised that anyone was there to receive a vaccine at all.

To delve into the source of the problem, I contacted the Main Street Clinic for an interview. A worker answered the phone and immediately refused my offer of an interview. Then, they explained that all employees have “no information to give” and that all they could release to the public was that the situation was an “unexpected shortage”. Next, I looked to a local news service’s article, where they interviewed Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris on many vaccine-related issues. Harris said that the Alabama Department of Public Health has been berated with calls about the Main Street Family Care clinics, which it had partnered with to administer vaccine doses around the state. “They, it appears, used a number of their doses assigned for second doses as primary doses, which sort of creates a shortfall in people who need to come back for second doses,” Harris explained. He stated that he has been in conversation with the chain of clinics and was trying to help them as much as possible. The ADPH then ordered Main Street Family Care not to give out any additional first doses going forward,“but to use any available supply for second doses” to try and catch up with the clinic with new incoming dose deliveries. Betsy Stewart, the chief sales and marketing officer at Main Street, said the clinic is still waiting on ADPH to confirm how many doses it can provide and when it could expect them to arrive. Stewart said on Friday about 1,500 people had missed their second dose with Main Street. More than 600 of those had found second doses elsewhere. That left about 839 patients who still needed a second dose as of Friday, March 5th. Additionally, the number of Main Street patients who needed a second dose continued to rise as the clinic failed to resolve its shortage. Stewart estimated 300 to 400 more patients are due for a second dose but would be denied one the following week.

The vaccine rollout across the country has been very successful overall. Yet, to have a successful infrastructure for all, we must wholly address all problems up and down the chain of distribution. The issues that the Main Street Clinic underwent could have happened anywhere across America and affected any number of people. To our benefit, we are now able to see exactly what problems occurred in the vaccine rollout and how to fix them. First, no vaccine administration site should ever give out allocated doses for second vaccines as first doses. Second, all vaccine administration sites should have a responsive staff, a way to successfully reach personnel that can answer questions, and a support system of other clinics that can help to assuage the problems if they do occur.