A chaotic weekend that initially saw Islanders shut out of vaccines culminated with the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital filling 900 appointments.
A chaotic weekend that initially saw the Island get shut out of vaccine doses culminated with the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital filling 900 appointments for the coming 10 days in just over an hour, hospital officials confirmed Monday morning.
The 900 shots from the state are approximately half the number of doses hospital officials expected for the Island when prepping last week. Clinics and available appointments are running from March 1 through March 10. The Monday clinic was only in the morning.
The hospital does not expect to receive any new vaccine doses until its next state shipment, scheduled for March 10, a spokesman confirmed Monday.
In an email to the Gazette, hospital spokesman Marissa Lefebvre said the second round of appointments for eligible Islanders 65 and older and those with two or more underlying conditions opened at 8 a.m. Monday and were full by 9:15 a.m. “Scheduling went very well,” Ms. Lefebvre said in the email.
But Monday’s signups came after a head-spinning chain of events Saturday and Sunday that led to widespread confusion among Islanders looking to schedule their vaccine shots.
On Saturday morning the hospital had originally planned to open availability for about 2,100 vaccine appointments for the coming week.
Those plans were thrown into flux when the hospital received no vaccine from the state Department of Public Health by Friday evening. At 8 a.m. Saturday the hospital announced on its website that only had 100 appointments would be available for the week, catching the public by surprise.
The 100 appointments filled in four minutes.
Clinics had run smoothly throughout the previous week until the Saturday morning frustration.
Then on Sunday afternoon, hospital officials changed course again and said the state had confirmed 1,170 doses for the upcoming week, March 1 through March 5. Vaccine signups would resume Monday at 8 a.m. Nine hundred of the doses would be allocated for newly eligible Islanders; the other 270 doses would be reserved for second-shot vaccinations.
In an emailed statement Sunday, hospital CEO Denise Schepici thanked Islanders for their patience and reiterated that the lack of vaccine supply was a statewide issue.
“We are in communication with the state on a daily, if not hourly basis, to stay current on the supply chain challenges,” Ms. Schepici said. “This latest news from the state is promising that more doses will continue to come our way.”
The Sunday announcement also said there could be a delay with the state’s supply of the second dose of the Moderna vaccine, possibly forcing Islanders to reschedule second-shot appointments.
But a hospital spokesman said in an update email Monday that the state confirmed enough doses for all the second dose Moderna appointments scheduled in the current week, and that there would be no cancellations or delays.
The hospital does not expect to receive any more vaccine until March 10, Ms. Lefebvre confirmed in a follow up email to the Gazette, explaining why appointments had been scheduled 10 days in advance, rather than five.
Ms. Schepici said on Sunday the hospital remains committed to ensuring all eligible Islanders get vaccinated.
“We appreciate everyone’s understanding and we want you to know our team is working very hard, within the limitations we face, to vaccinate our community as soon as people are eligible,” she said.

Comments
All you folks are having us
Over 65 & Compromised Oak BluffsAll you folks are having us pull our hair out and elevating our frustration, anxiety levels as well as the medical issues which puts us in the compromised immune systems departments.
Our faith in our leaders is at a all time low!
Please try harder and keep politics out of your decisions, open our restaurants and our schools!
faith has reached an all time
august west edgartownfaith has reached an all time low in six weeks? amazing!
Faith at an all time low?
Pearl Baker Oak BluffsFaith at an all time low? August, I suggest you look at your own existence and see you are well. I have faith, the good Lord willing that we will all be as we should be.
I’m guessing much in life
Under 65 and OK OBI’m guessing much in life frustrates you. We’re all living through the first global pandemic in over 100 years. My recommendation is you relax. I have every confidence Island leaders are doing the best with what information they have. We all want our shots.
Hardly seems reasonable to
JP EdgartownHardly seems reasonable to blame MVH for the unfortunate situation on Saturday morning. The state of Massachusetts was slow to get things going in terms of vaccines, and still seems to be groping its way through a process that should have been well-vetted by the time vaccines were approved. In addition to what appeared to be almost no advance planning at the federal level it's no surprise that the process has caused so much frustration and worry. All that said, the vaccination process at MVH has been well planned and works smoothly and efficiently. They cannot innocculate if they do not have the medicine, and can only inform the public of what they know. This is one situation where constantly changing rules, group priorities, and lack of advance planning at the state level deserves much of the blame; not the local hospital.
We would like to share our
John & Jan Wightman West TisburyWe would like to share our experiences regarding the vaccinations sign up process and the ensuing trip to the hospital to get vaccinated. Jan navigated the Patient Gateway site without issues. She had us signed up and scheduled for our first shot within 20 minutes of the 8:00 am opening bell. And, with the times of our first choice. We arrived at the hospital together as our spots were 15 minutes apart. From the moment we entered the parking lot, to the moment we left the parking lot, we experienced an efficiently organized and well executed operation, every step of the way. From the parking attendants, who met and directed each car after car with warm, upbeat and clear directions, to the people meeting and directing everyone upon entering, to the people checking you in, and finally, to the front line nurses who completed the process, vaccinating patient after patient and recording/documenting each encounter.....twelve hundred times.
Well thought out, well organized , well executed. All this while the hospital was also fully engaged in the normal everyday operations of a hospital.
Kudos to a great team of truly dedicated professionals and solid leadership.
Agree 100%. The MVH delivery
Islander EdgartownAgree 100%. The MVH delivery is nearly flawless from start to finish. A real credit to those dedicated MVH employees and volunteers.
Regrettably MVH suffers from association with a poorly planned, and even more poorly executed, state-run registration process. Whereas there are real constraints on “supply” of the actual vaccine, that is no excuse for an inept sign-up process — even two weeks after the first rollout fiasco. Governor Baker tries to blame things within his control — his exclusive control — like the extremely poor performance of the registration/website vendor, on the feds. He tries to hide behind the number of vaccinations that have been received — but received only after many frustrating hours by citizens trying to navigate the unworkable registration process.
Just shameful.
To the 1st commentor,you are
Charlie Callahan So Boston/EdgartownTo the 1st commentor,you are 100%right. I also blame the dummies running the govt. They only care about our votes. Baker is probably the most useless governor this state has ever had and I'm a Republican. But he got his shot
Hats off to the hospital, I
LBL Vineyard havenHats off to the hospital, I recently had my vaccine, everything was 100 percent. Everything. Great job, and thank you at the hospital employees, thank you also for your kindness. How lucky we are.
MVH is doing it's best. Our
BCS Oak BluffsMVH is doing it's best. Our incompetent President and Governor are combining to mess this up.
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