That’s good news for the many people who were partially covered earlier than they should have been, but the problem could reportedly result in people having to wait an additional two weeks for their second dose — and the increased coverage offered by the full vaccine.

During a press briefing Wednesday, Acting Secretary Alison Beam said “some providers inadvertently used the Moderna vaccine shipped to them intended as second doses… as first doses.”

“This was a structural issue that started out in the beginning of January,” Beam said. The total number of doses is about 200,000.

The department is “committed to ensuring that second doses are available,” she said, but there are now far more second-dose requests than there are doses available.

The problem may result in some people who have received their first dose, but not their second dose, to have their follow-up pushed back. The second dose of the Moderna vaccine (the one that has been generally available in Warren County) is recommended to be administered 28 days after the first.

Beam said the problem with the misuse of doses could lead to scheduling second doses out to 42 days — six weeks instead of four.

A misuse of 200,000 doses is a large swing.

The state’s allocation — including both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines — for this week was 183,575 first doses and 143,275 second doses.

The department plans to enhance communications moving forward, to ensure such a problem does not happen again, Beam said.

She said the problem is a “stark reminder” that there is not enough vaccine available.

“Ultimately, it’s a scarcity of commodity,” she said.

In Warren County, Warren General Hospital, the Rouse Home, Warren Manor, and Kinzua Healthcare and Rehabilitation have reported administering high percentages of their second doses, with some who missed appointments and very few who turned down the dose.

“Warren General Hospital completes a weekly survey stating how many second doses that we need for the next week and potential first doses that we would like to continue with the remainder of the 1A category,” Chief Nursing Officer Joe Akif said last week.

“The state has been good about shipping second doses, but the first doses still remains a slow process.”

Gaughn’s Drug Store has not been administering the vaccine long enough to have contributed to the state’s problem. According to Owner Pharmacist Scott Newton, Gaughn’s has only administered first doses so far. He had ordered second doses for administration next week, but had not received them as of Wednesday.

COUNTY UPDATE

There were two new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths reported in Warren County on Wednesday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported a total of 2,112 cases in the county so far. Of those, 1,730 are confirmed and 382 are probables. State-wide, there were about 3,500 new cases reported on Thursday. There have been 779,638 confirmed cases in the state and another 123,012 probable cases.

So far, 95 county residents have died of COVID or from COVID-related causes. That number has not changed since Feb. 4.

At Warren General Hospital, there were still three COVID-positive patients, none on ventilators, and none in intensive care as of Wednesday’s report.