3,000 coronavirus vaccine doses set to expire in Philadelphia if they go unused

Philadelphia has about 3,000 vaccine doses citywide that will expire over the next couple of days if they aren’t used, officials told the Inquirer.

Four thousand Pfizer vaccine doses were removed from cold storage earlier this week, and the city has administered about 1,000 so far. But with demand for vaccinations plateauing, the city faces the prospect of thousands of vaccine doses expiring before they can be used.

Fortunately, Philadelphia residents and those employed in the city can walk-up without an appointment to two FEMA-run vaccination sites today and get vaccinated — one at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Center City, and one at Esperanza in North Philadelphia.

“If someone walked up to the Convention Center now to get vaccinated, they would be in and out in under 30 minutes,” said FEMA spokesperson Charlie Elison.

The Convention Center vaccine site is open Wednesday until 5 p.m, while the Esperanza site will be open from noon to 8 p.m. The sites’ full schedules are available on the city’s website.

First doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will be administered at both sites through May 4. After that, the clinics will switch to second doses of the vaccine for the next three weeks, meaning unvaccinated people won’t be able to walk up to get a shot.

“Everyone over 16 is eligible, and we have tons of walk-up opportunity,” Elison said. “It’s never been easier to get vaccinated.”