UPDATE: Cashman Center vaccine process gets revamp, wait times drop

UPDATE 10 p.m.: Authorities are pleading with the federal government to speed up shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine to Nevada and increase the allotment which is near the bottom when compared to other states.

This comes as state leaders acknowledge anxiety is growing among those who have received the first dose of the vaccine, but now face the challenge of setting up and securing a second appointment and dose.

IMPORTANT: Where to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Las Vegas

"That's a lot of stress for people right now, 'hey, I got to get my second dose and I wanna make sure that I get it, I can't find a place to get it,' so we understand that we want to get that solved as quickly as possible," said Clark County Fire Department Chief John Steinbeck.

Clark County authorities say they continue to streamline and organize the vaccination efforts at Cashman Center which came under scrutiny last week after some seniors reported waiting more than two hours in line despite having an appointment.

"We are turning people away without an appointment," said Travis Haldeman, an engineer with the Clark County Fire Department and incident commander with the Cashman Center site.

"We only have so much vaccine to give out and we to make sure that those with appointments, that we have the vaccine here, so we can give it to them," added Haldeman.

As of Monday, a little more than 1,000 people were able to receive the vaccine at the Cashman site with an average wait time of 10 minutes.

"It has been a lot faster, it has alleviated a lot of issues, we've also made some other adjustments inside the facility to increase our efficiency and reduce the amount of personnel that it takes," added Haldeman.

The Southern Nevada Health District announced it will begin contacting people who received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at one of their clinics, such as Cashman, to begin scheduling their second dose.

The appointments will begin to be scheduled next Monday, Feb. 1.

The Health District began administering the first doses of the Moderna vaccine in the week of Jan. 4 which means the second dose can be administered after 28 days and up to six weeks after which out losing the intended protection.

The Health District administered the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine the week of Jan. 18 and the second dose can be administered as soon as 21 days after the first but as late as six weeks after without loosing any of the benefits.

People eligible for a second dose appointment at the Health District will be notified using the contact information they shared at the time they received their first dose and will then be provided scheduling information.

If someone who received their first dose from another non-Health District clinic schedules an appointment, they will not be vaccinated and advised to contact their original provider to receive their second dose.

Health officials say the vaccines are not interchangeable, meaning the first and second doses must be from the same manufacturer.

State health leaders also took part in a virtual news conference Monday revealing the UK variant of COVID-19, which is believed to be more contagious, has now been discovered in Nevada.

RELATED: First U.K. coronavirus variant case detected in Nevada

Authorities also addressed Nevada's low ranking for the currently allotment of the COVID-19 vaccines.

On Monday, Gov. Steve Sisolak wrote a letter to federal authorities demanding action to address the issue.

RELATED: Gov. Sisolak sends letter about vaccine allocation for Nevada

State health leaders also tried to explain the complicated process of the vaccine distribution adding the effort to vaccinate every adult in Nevada at one time has never been attempted before.

COVID-19 State Response Director Caleb Cage equated the process to that of an the engine in a car with the vaccine supply being the fuel.

All of the parts have to work in concert to achieve success, but without reliable and sustained 'fuel' the engine has to be shut down and it leads to inefficient results and even some costly consequences.

Additional information about new COVID-19 vaccine is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html.

More information about COVID-19, including case updates, vaccination clinics, and available resources is available on the Health District website at www.SNHD.info/covid.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Cashman Center COVID-19 vaccination site is back open on Monday.

The site closed over the weekend to improve its appointment verification system.

RELATED: Cashman Center COVID-19 vaccination site closing for the weekend

13 Action News spoke to several people who reported long lines at the site and said no one was verifying those with appointments.

The site is offering vaccinations to seniors 70 and up along with health care workers and public safety workers.

Extremely limited appointments for COVID-19 vaccines in Clark County can be made on the Health District’s website at www.SNHD.info/covid.

On Monday afternoon, a press conference was held to discuss the vaccination process at Cashman Center and other parts of the valley. 13 Investigative reporter Joe Bartels is there and will have a full report later today.