DES MOINES, Iowa — Health experts in central Iowa want parents to know there are no shortages of pediatric vaccines. However, they stress there is a specific formula on how they are allocated, which means parents could see fewer appointments.
"I can see how it can be frustrating when you have just a set amount of vaccine and a limited number of places that are giving it," says UnityPoint Pediatrician Dr. Steve Rinderknecht. "My best advice is, we do not have a shortage of vaccine, just try and be patient.
The Polk County Health Department says it gets an allocation from the state, but those distributions are not always the same or easy to predict.
"We are at the discretion of what the state provides for information, because of what they're getting from federal Pfizer level," said Polk County Health Department Communications Director Nola Aigner Davis.
The health department allocates its vaccines out to pharmacies, health systems and doctor's offices. Some of those organizations also get access to a federal allocation system, something Hy-Vee relies on heavily.
"I would say almost all of our vaccine allotments come directly from the CDC," said Hy-Vee VP of Communications Christina Gayman. "So we became a federal retail pharmacy partner last February. And since that time, we've gotten all of our shipments from them, we order through their ordering system."
Doctors recommend parents start by first giving their pediatrician a call, to decide what's the best vaccination location for them.
"This is something we do often and in every visit, and also you have nurses that are used to giving vaccines to little ones too," says Waggoner Pediatrics co-owner and pediatrician Julie Waggoner. "So I think that'd be the first place to reach out and just see what their thoughts are, what the availability would be and then kind of go from there."
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