Rite Aid COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments Cause Confusion In Sacramento

Rite Aid announced on February 11, that it would start offering a limited amount of COVID-19 vaccinations in California, among other states.

Over half of their locations are scheduled to receive 100 doses per week under the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

However, some Sacramento residents who received the first dose at Rite Aid were left in confusion about getting their required second dose.

Kathy O'Kins spoke with KCRA3 News about the confusion. O'Kins received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine at a Sacramento Rite Aid last weekend.

"I got my shot, which did not hurt," she said. "The pharmacist was really nice."

But O'Kins said a follow-up appointment for her second dose was never scheduled.

"I called my friends that were going to different pharmacies to say, 'Let me know if you get yours,'" said O'Kins. "They didn't either. It was kind of like we're all trying to keep each other in the loop of what we're finding out."

According to O'Kins, when she asked one of the staff at Rite Aid about a second appointment, they said they also weren't sure about the next steps.

"He thought that the county was probably going to notify us and that it was probably going to be some other location," said O'Kins. "He didn't know."

On Wednesday, February 17, KCRA3 was informed by a spokesperson for Rite Aid that people who received the first dose but didn't have a second appointment would be contacted by the pharmacy to set up their appointment.

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