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The following vaccine developments took place in Bucks County during the week of January 22-29:
BUCKS COUNTY, PA – As of Friday afternoon, 39,657 coronavirus cases had been reported in Bucks County and 1,034 COVID-related deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
County health officials continued to try to vaccinate members of the public, according to the Pennsylvania vaccination plan.
Who is already vaccinated?
As of Friday afternoon, 21,504 people in Bucks County had been partially vaccinated against COVID-19 and a further 7,492 people had received two doses of the two-dose vaccine. Most of the vaccines were administered in Bucks County hospitals to their employees or by pharmacists visiting nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in the county.
Who is eligible to get the vaccine now?
Bucks County, like the rest of Pennsylvania, remains in Phase 1A of the state’s four-phase coronavirus vaccine rollout. Originally, this meant that the only people eligible for a vaccine were healthcare workers, residents, and employees of nursing homes and other care facilities.
Bucks County has established an online coronavirus vaccine clearinghouse. The hub contains detailed information on who is eligible to be vaccinated in each of the four phases of the national plan.
There is a form for residents to register for the vaccine. Once registered, residents will be contacted to schedule an immunization appointment once enough supplies arrive, officials said.
Click here to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccination in Bucks County
Anyone in Bucks County with access to the internet is encouraged to register for an online vaccination. But, for those who don’t have internet access, there is another way. In Bucks County, residents can register for a vaccination by calling the county’s coronavirus hotline at 1-800-383-0371.
Where to get the vaccine in Bucks County
As of the end of the week, no COVID-19 vaccination sites were open to the public in Bucks County. But officials hope that will change soon.
During the initial phase of vaccine deployment, most doses were administered to employees at local hospitals. Pharmacy teams also visited nursing homes and other facilities to vaccinate eligible people.
The county has opened an appointment clinic in Langhorne where healthcare workers not affiliated with one of the county’s hospitals have been given injections, but that clinic is not open to the public.
Currently, the county has opened COVID-19 testing sites at three Bucks County Community College campuses across the county. These sites do not currently provide COVID vaccines, but county commissioners said they plan to convert them early next month.
Commissioners also said at least two more vaccination sites were planned, although they had not been publicly identified. The five sites will be managed under a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, which manages the BCCC test sites.
Bucks County hospitals have started announcing that they will be giving the vaccine to members of the public soon. St. Mary’s Medical Center in Langhorne is now accepting online registrations from people over the age of 65 and 16 or older with medical conditions.
The hospital said it plans to open eligibility in the coming weeks.
View St. Mary’s Medical Center COVID-19 Vaccine Form Here
Bucks County also plans to set up smaller teams to visit seniors’ communities, housing authority properties, places that provide services to the homeless and other places to administer vaccines, have declared the commissioners.
Bristol Lower Bucks Hospital has announced plans to open a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for members of the public next month
Hospital spokeswoman Michelle Aliprantis told Patch the clinic will be in partnership with the Bucks County and Pennsylvania State Department of Health. She said there are plans to have the clinic up and running by mid-February.
Doylestown Health’s priority is to vaccinate as many suitable individuals in the current Phase 1A as supply and resources allow, hospital spokesperson Beth Long told Patch:
Doylestown Health’s physician offices (primary care and specialists) are reaching out to their patients who are most vulnerable and most at risk of contracting COVID-19 to meet the most immediate vaccine demand. The patient will be contacted when eligible and will have the option to make an appointment at one of two locations: Doylestown Hospital or Doylestown Emergency Care Center (both sites by appointment). only). The number of vaccines administered daily at both locations will vary depending on the vaccine supply available, which is currently well below demand.
Eastern Pennsylvania’s first public vaccination clinic opened in Lehigh County on Wednesday. Hundreds of first responders and elderly residents lined up for their first dose of vaccine at Dorney Park. The one-day clinic in Allentown was open to people aged 75 and over who had made an appointment, as well as healthcare workers and first responders.
The site is temporary, but health officials say more mass vaccination clinics are coming.
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