Bucks County COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout: Updates

The following vaccine developments occurred in Bucks County for the week of Jan. 22-29:

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — As of Friday afternoon, there had been 39,657 coronavirus cases reported in Bucks County and 1,034 COVID-related deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

County health officials were continuing to try to get vaccines to members of the public, according to Pennsylvania's vaccination plan.

Who's Already Vaccinated?

By Friday afternoon, 21,504 people in Bucks County had been partially vaccinated against COVID-19 and another 7,492 people had received both doses of the two-shot vaccine. Most of the vaccines have been given at Bucks County hospitals to their employees, or by pharmacists visiting the county's nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

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 rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. Originally, that meant the only people eligible for a vaccine were healthcare workers and residents and employees of nursing homes and other care facilities.

State officials have dramatically increased the number of Pennsylvanians eligible for the vaccine during the initial phase. Everyone 65 and older, along with residents 16 or older who have health conditions that put them at high risk from the virus immediately were made eligible, adding about 3.5 million Pennsylvania residents to the list of those eligible for the shots. However, the state is experiencing issues obtaining an adequate supply of the vaccine.

How To Sign Up

Bucks County has created an online hub for information on the coronavirus vaccine. The hub contains detailed information on who is eligible to be vaccinated under each of the state plan's four phases.

On it, there's a form letting residents register for the vaccine. Once registered, residents will be contacted to schedule a vaccination appointment once sufficient supplies arrive, officials said.

Click Here To Register For A COVID-19 Vaccination In Bucks County

Anyone in Bucks County with internet access is encouraged to register for a vaccination online. But, for those who do not have internet access, there is another way. In Bucks County, residents may register for a vaccination by calling the county's coronavirus helpline at 1-800-383-0371.

Where To Get The Vaccine In Bucks County

As of the end of the week, there were no COVID-19 vaccine sites open to the public in Bucks County. But officials hope that will be changing soon.

During the initial phase of the vaccine's rollout, most doses were administered at local hospitals to employees. Pharmacy teams also have been visiting nursing homes and other facilities to vaccinate eligible people.

The county has opened an appointment-only clinic in Langhorne where healthcare workers not affiliated with one of the county's hospitals have been receiving shots, but that clinic is not open to the public.

Currently, the county has opened COVID-19 testing sites on three Bucks County Community College campuses throughout the county. Those sites currently are not providing COVID vaccinations but county commissioners have said they plan to convert them to such early next month.

Commissioners also said at least two other vaccination sites are planned, though they have not been publicly identified. All five sites will be run through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, which has been running the BCCC testing sites.

Bucks County hospitals have begun announcing they also will soon be giving the vaccine to members of the public. St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne now is accepting online registrations from people older than 65 and those 16 or older with existing health conditions.
The hospital said it plans to open up eligibility in the next several weeks.

See The St. Mary Medical Center COVID-19 Vaccine Form Here

Bucks County also plans to put together smaller teams to visit senior citizen communities, housing authority properties, locations that provide services to the homeless and other locations to administer vaccines, the commissioners said.

Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol has announced plans to open a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for members of the public some time next month

Hospital spokeswoman Michelle Aliprantis told Patch that the clinic will be in partnership with the Bucks County Department of Health and the state of Pennsylvania. She said plans are to have the clinic running by mid-February.

Doylestown Health's priority is to vaccinate as many appropriate individuals in the current 1A Phase as supply and resources allow, hospital spokesperson Beth Long told Patch:

Doylestown Health physician practices (primary care and specialists) are contacting their patients who are the most vulnerable and at the highest risk of contracting COVID-19 to meet the most immediate demand for vaccine. The patient will be contacted when they are eligible, and offered the opportunity to schedule an appointment at one of two locations: Doylestown Hospital or Doylestown Health Urgent Care (both sites by appointment only). The number of vaccines administered daily, at both locations, will vary by supply of available vaccine, which currently falls far short of demand.

On Wednesday, eastern Pennsylvania's first public vaccination clinic opened in Lehigh County. Hundreds of first responders and elderly residents lined up for their first dose of the vaccine at Dorney Park . The one-day clinic in Allentown was open to people 75 and older who had made appointments, as well as healthcare workers and first responders.

The site is temporary but health officials there say more mass vaccination clinics are coming.

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