NEW YORK, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Many people in the United States are signing up for multiple appointments and not backing out of the ones they don't need, which forced vaccine providers, from pharmacies to community clinics, to find last-minute replacements so doses aren't wasted, reported The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

"It creates a mad dash at the end of the day," Raynard Washington, deputy health director of Mecklenburg County Health Department in North Carolina, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

As many as 10 percent of people don't show up at vaccination sites run by the county, hundreds of doses a week might get wasted, partly because they don't cancel their multiple appointments, according to the newspaper.

In North Carolina, a county health director has been going door-to-door to find takers for missed slots, it said. On social media, it is increasingly common to see posts from health departments offering shots to anyone who can show up at a vaccine site.

"Pharmacies and health officials are making a plea to Americans who received their COVID-19 vaccines: Cancel the other shots you booked," said the newspaper.

Appointments remain tough to score in many parts of the country even though the overall supply of vaccines and the pace of inoculation are improving. Some people are making multiple bookings in hopes of getting vaccinated sooner or sometimes because they don't receive or see confirmation emails, according to pharmacies and community vaccination sites.

Others receive shots at pop-up vaccination events before scheduled appointments and don't notify providers.

"The U.S. lacks a concrete system of tracking wasted doses," said the newspaper. Generally, local and state officials say that demand is high enough that no-shows aren't leading to tossed vaccines, though vaccine providers say they sometimes fail to find takers for all the doses they have thawed in time to use them all safely.

Pharmacies say multiple bookings and subsequent no-shows can slow down the vaccination process by creating more work for their staff, according to the report.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia that all American adults will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine by April 19, adding that 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered within his first 75 days in office, in line with a stated goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office. Enditem

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