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Allegheny County officials said on Wednesday they plan to take doses of the vaccine in high-rise buildings and similar communities, setting up telephone recording and looking for ways to streamline the recording process. .
Measures take time, officials said, and require a larger and more reliable vaccine supply. The county – as well as providers in the region – find it difficult to plan future appointments for vaccines when allocations are unpredictable in quantity and on arrival.
“I know there is a lot of frustration out there,” said Dr Debra Bogen, county health director. “The clinics fill up quickly. The state registration system is confusing and sometimes it just doesn’t work. You wonder when you can get vaccinated and how you can get vaccinated. I really hear you.
After opening appointments for vaccine distribution last week, all slots were filled in under 30 minutes, Bogen said. Now, health department staff members are making appointments for everyone who has registered on the county site and canceling appointments for people who are not eligible.
Bogen said the county still suffers from vaccine supply shortages. She estimated that about a third of the county’s population is now eligible – but there aren’t enough doses for everyone.
Overall, however, Bogen said vaccinations were increasing in communities across the county. The health department received about 50,000 doses last week, about double the number the week before.
All county health systems and several community pharmacies are offering doses, and the health department received enough vaccines this week to ensure the second doses while continuing with the first dose.
“We have so many willing and able people and organizations to be ready to help immunize,” she said.
County officials were hopeful that the new presidential administration would revamp federal vaccine deployment efforts, streamlining vaccine manufacturing and distribution.
President Joe Biden set a goal on Monday to vaccinate at least 100 million Americans during his first 100 days in office. He said there would be enough vaccine for 300 million doses by the end of the summer. Biden also used the Defense Production Act to speed up vaccine manufacturing.
“I think the fact that the president and his team just focused on it and really made it a priority – meeting with the manufacturers, putting in place plans to do distribution… it looks to me like it’s okay with me. improve, ”County Executive Says Rich Fitzgerald.
As the vaccine rollout grows, Allegheny County’s covid-19 levels are “encouraging,” Bogen said.
The average daily number of cases is below 300 this week, 120 fewer than last week. The county’s positivity rate also fell to 7.8%, a drop of 1.6% from last week. The decline has allowed the health department to devote more time to investigating cases for all. At the end of November, the health department announced that investigators should prioritize who they call, due to the number of new cases reported.
Still, Bogen urged residents not to let the numbers “put them to sleep” into thinking it’s safe to stop practicing covid safety – especially with the emergence of new variants of the virus. She said the health department was monitoring for signs to see if the variants were present in and around Allegheny County.
“If these variants become the dominant strain in our region, it could undo all the hard work we have done to reduce the number of cases,” she said.
Teghan Simonton is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Teghan at 724-226-4680, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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Allegheny | Coronavirus | Local | Best Stories
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