She has breast cancer and is 65, but can’t find a dose of COVID-19 vaccine

PITTSBURGH — Patricia May knows what it feels like to fight for her life.

“Although I had a good response to my treatment, there is always that fear that it compromised me because of chemotherapy,” May said.

She’s still fighting triple-negative breast cancer. She’s 65 years old but can’t find a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

May said she spent most of the day trying to schedule an appointment, only to realize thousands of people were ahead of her.

“When I was trying to get into New Kensington at the pharmacy, there was 17,000 people in queue. That’s what it told me. When I called California, PA to try and get in on one of the pharmacies, it was down to 14,000 and some people,” May said.

“Opening the Phase 1A to all of those people created a bit of a conundrum because it forces us with such limited supply to decide who comes next,” chief medical officer for Butler Health System, Dr. David Rottinghaus, said.

He said there’s not even enough vaccine for 10% of all the people who are in Phase 1A to get the shot.

“We would like to work with the state as a partner as would all the health systems within southwest Pennsylvania and really be assured that we will have robust supplies of vaccine,” he said.

Right now, medical experts said people should be patient.

People falling under Phase 1B of state COVID-19 vaccine plan have to wait even longer to get it

Cox Media Group