'So Much Frustration': Local Healthcare Worker Struggling To Get Second Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Nikkema Taylor was worried Thursday that she would not be able to get the second dose of the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 within the recommended window.
"I'm feeling so much frustration, and so much anxiety about this," she said.
The healthcare worker received her first shot Jan. 7 and said she has been trying to make an appointment for her second dose ever since but hasn't been able to secure one because the county's vaccination website has been overwhelmed with people trying to sign up.
"When I got the first vaccine, they said, 'don't make it more than four days late,'" Taylor told CBSLA. "So I'm trying to go online and set my appointment for the second vaccine and there's nothing available."
Health experts initially suggested people get their second dose between 21 and 28 days after receiving the first dose, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has since updated its recommendations, saying that it was fine to wait a few weeks longer.
Taylor said she was a bit skeptical.
"It's like, 'Well, what happens if I get it later,'" she said. "I don't want to be somebody's guinea pig."
She also wondered why healthcare workers were not immediately scheduled for their second shot to avoid potential delays or shortages, and she's concerned that more people might end up in her shoes.
"All these thousands and thousands of people, they're getting their first vaccine," she said. "Will they be able to get their second?"
A spokesperson for the L.A. County Department of Public Health said while they were striving to provide doses on schedule, there were no major concerns about delivering the second dose a little later than the recommended window.