Immunocompromised Bucks Residents Can Receive 3rd Vaccine Dose

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The Bucks County Health Department has begun providing third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to immunocompromised residents, in compliance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

As of Monday afternoon, the county had administered 11 third-dose Pfizer shots. Third doses of the Moderna vaccine are expected to become available at county clinics next week. The Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine has not yet received approval for another dose.

If anyone has questions about receiving a third dose, they should contact their doctor or call the county health department at 215-345-3318.

At least 5,702 COVID shots were administered in the county last week, the most since late June. According to the CDC, 66.3 percent of Bucks residents 12 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine.

To date, 637,203 total doses have been administered, enough to fully vaccinate 312,889 people and partially vaccinate 39,256 others.

However, the prevalence of the delta variant has also meant a rise in new cases. Bucks County is designated as an area of substantial spread by the CDC, and the county’s seven-day average ticked up to 86 new cases per day on Saturday. More than 130 cases were reported on Saturday, the most since early May.

At 4.5 percent, Bucks County’s test positivity rate for the week of Aug. 6-12 was below the statewide rate of 6 percent.

In Bucks County, there have been two deaths linked to COVID since last week, both reported on Aug. 9. A total of three deaths have been reported over the past 30 days.

At least 25 people with COVID were hospitalized at the end of last week, none of them on ventilators.

Bucks County continues to offer free vaccinations to anyone age 12 and over from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at the Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem and Warwick Square in Jamison. For a full list of vaccine providers in Bucks County and locations where COVID vaccines are being offered, visit the coronavirus testing and vaccination information page online.

RELATED: Third Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine In PA: New Details Released

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