ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Search for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment on Walgreens’ website, and, depending on where you live, you’ll likely find there aren’t any available for another week or two.
So, when Brooke Clanton, a mother in Englewood, found appointments for this past Wednesday for her two children’s second doses, she didn’t hesitate to book them.
“Our goal is to keep them in school this year, as much as possible, so it just makes that more doable,” she said.
But that excitement quickly turned into disappointment when she received an email hours before they were going to get their shots. Walgreens had canceled the appointments with no explanation.
“Went into the store because they weren't answering their phone to ask, and they told me that they were stopping vaccinations as of noon that day and were shutting down. They weren't going to be administering them moving forward,” Clanton said.
Staff at the pharmacy told her it was because of staffing shortages. They only had two employees at the time.
“[I was] stressed because we talked it up with the kids. We were all excited … second dose ready to go,” she said.
Clanton says no one helped her reschedule the appointments.
“They just said go online or you can try to check these other stores,” she said.
She visited another store, but they, too, told her they couldn't help and told her to check online instead.
Desperate to get her kids fully vaccinated, Clanton got them their shots at a mobile vaccine clinic in Englewood on Saturday.
“Just that extra layer,” she said.
Walgreens shared the following statement with Denver7, explaining the cancellations:
"We have adjusted pharmacy hours in a limited number of stores to accommodate current staffing needs, while also working to ensure minimal disruption to our customers. Our team members work with patients to reschedule any impacted vaccination appointments at these stores as quickly as possible. We are enhancing our digital scheduler to ensure it better supports fluctuations in store hours. Additionally, pharmacy and store hours are updated as needed on the store locator available through our app or at Walgreens.com/FindaStore."