BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore public health officials are canceling some COVID-19 vaccination appointments scheduled for next week after overbooking hundreds of first-dose appointments.
The city health department did not specify how many appointments would be canceled, or why the overbooking happened, The Baltimore Sun reported.
The department issued a statement saying it was working to identify potential issues in the state’s scheduling system, and the possibility that links to second-dose appointments were shared via email or social media.
“We are working to confirm that this situation will not occur moving forward,” the statement read.
Officials said they are prioritizing giving second doses to people who have already gotten their first shot because of limited inventory.
Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Saturday that state health officials have confirmed a case of COVID-19 caused by the new variant of the virus that was first detected in South Africa.
The new variant’s presence in Maryland was confirmed by the Maryland Department of Health in consultation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The case involves an adult living in the Baltimore metro region.
Officials said variant has not been shown to cause more severe illness or increased risk of death compared to other variants but that it is believed to be more transmissible than other strains.
“State health officials are closely monitoring the B.1.351 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the state,” Hogan said in a news release.
The case with the new variant, which also appeared in South Carolina this week, involves an adult living in the Baltimore metro region. Comprehensive contact tracing efforts are underway to ensure that potential contacts are quickly identified, quarantined, and tested, officials said.
Maryland officials also have reported seven cases of a coronavirus strain first identified in the United Kingdom.
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