The COVID-19 vaccination site at the Doraville MARTA station is experiencing “extended wait times” due to a backlog of rescheduled appointments related to the recent winter storm, DeKalb County health officials said.
The county was unable to receive doses of the Moderna vaccine for most of last week and the beginning of this week due to winter-related supply issues, according to DeKalb Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Ford. As a result, hundreds of second-dose appointments were canceled and had to be rescheduled.
On Thursday, some people who had appointments claimed they had to wait multiple hours to get vaccinated, with some giving up before receiving their shot. Ashley Letson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she had a 9:50 a.m. appointment but gave up after three hours of waiting.
“My first shot, you stayed in your car and I was in-and-out in 30 minutes,” she said. “I actually had to leave (Thursday). It was unorganized chaos.”
The DeKalb Board of Health put out a statement confirming that rescheduled appointments played a large factor in the lengthy delays.
“This is a result of accommodating those with rescheduled appointments from last Thursday, due to vaccine delayed by winter weather, as well as existing appointments scheduled for today,” the statement read.
The MARTA-based vaccine site opened last Friday and was part of an effort by the county to increase vaccine access for residents without vehicles. Located at 6000 New Peachtree Road, the site operates from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. It’s closed Sundays.
The board of health’s statement also mentioned that people with appointments need to show up at their scheduled time. The site only administers vaccinations by appointment.
“You cannot simply show up at your convenience, as vaccine supply at the site has been allocated for those scheduled for that specific day only,” the statement read. “Going to a site outside of your designated day and time will result in being turned away. We ask for everyone’s continued patience as we work to get everyone vaccinated.”
New vaccine appointments can be scheduled at dekalbhealth.net/covid-19-vaccine/, but availability is sporadic.
