ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke man denied an appointment from CVS for the second dose of his COVID-19 vaccine has finally gotten things cleared up. In the end, he says CVS corporate staff apologized for their “error” and helped figured things out.
[READ MORE: CVS calls Roanoke man for first COVID vaccine dose, doesn’t guarantee his second dose]
Jack Guilliams was pulled off a Virginia Department of Health waiting list for a COVID-19 vaccine by CVS staff two weeks ago. When trying to schedule his appointment for the second dose, he was told the pharmacy could not and would not guarantee it to him.
“I was kind of angry. I may have been furious, to be honest with you. I don’t take no for an answer,” expressed Guilliams.
As part of our first story CVS told us in an emailed response, “because he was called by a local store team from a waiting list, and did not register online, he is not guaranteed a second dose. (When you book online you must book both first and second doses - similar to booking a round trip airline ticket). The patient should continue to check CVS.com and look for available appointments at his vaccination store - there is an option to select that you are only looking for a second dose.”
None of that worked for Guilliams.
His persistence kept him on the phone with CVS for days. It finally paid off.
“I called the web support team who in turn connected me with a supervisor who in turn connected me with the pharmacy complaint department,” explained Guilliams. “Then, once I made a complaint with them the next day a senior advisor from CVS corporate reached out to me. She was very apologetic. She said, ‘This is not what was supposed to happen.’”
“Everybody should get a second dose scheduled when they get their first dose,” explained the Virginia vaccine coordinator Dr. Danny Avula. “It sounds like this was a unique situation. With a retail pharmacy I would push them to state level management with CVS so we can make sure that happens. I’m happy to help facilitate that. The fall would be with the health department if we really can’t resolve it with CVS, we can get the local health department to schedule them for a second dose clinic.”
Guilliams will get his second Moderna shot at CVS in two weeks.
In an emailed response Wednesday, Amy Thibault with CVS said:
“To help ensure that vaccine from the limited supply we receive is available for appointments, patients should use our online scheduler to make an appointment for their second vaccine dose. If a patient who was contacted by a pharmacy to receive an unused dose cannot find an appointment online for their second dose within the recommended time frame for the vaccine they received, we have instructed our local pharmacy teams to work with the patients to plan for a time/date to come in for a second dose.”