Amid Shortage, KOP Vaccine Clinic Focusing On Second Doses Only

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — The private vaccine site in King of Prussia has temporarily stopped giving first doses and is focusing on ensuring all their patients receive second doses as they await more shipments.

15toKnow, which runs the site in the mall parking lot, said it received 300 doses Wednesday and had already begun to schedule more second dose appointments. There has been concern that the shortage of doses would impact those awaiting their second dose, but the company expressed optimism on this front.

"To date everyone who received a first dose from us has received their second dose within the 42-day window," 15toKnow's CEO, Mike Dershowitz, told Patch.

The site, built on a large scale by a concert production company in the mall parking lot, says it could handle the administration of 3,000 doses a day. The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported the suspension of first doses Wednesday morning. It interviewed several people who said they had already received their first dose through the site and that the deadline for the maximum 42-day time frame between doses was quickly approaching.

State policy dictates that patients must receive their first and second doses from the same provider, so anyone who was vaccinated by 15toKnow must receive their second shot in the same location. First and second doses contain identical vaccine but are earmarked separately, due to shortages, to ensure everyone gets a timely second shot.

Dershowitz said the state had told him it would be in communication with him and would ensure that no patients exceeded the 42-day time frame.

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"So far they’ve made good on that promise and demonstrating their commitment," Dershowitz said. "We are confident the PA Department of Health is doing everything within their means to work with us and other providers to make sure vaccines are administered as efficiently and effectively as possible."

When reached for a statement on the King of Prussia site prior to opening, the Department of Health clarified it was not involved in the creation of the site.

"At this time, the Commonwealth's limited vaccine allotment does not allow for the execution of large-scale vaccination clinics, although our planning to support those events is ongoing so that we will be ready once the vaccine supply is sufficient to support it," a spokesperson said.

Allocations from the state to providers in southeastern Pennsylvania has been a hot subject of late, as local leaders say they have not received sufficient doses and that the region is lagging behind less-populated parts of the state.

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccination in Pennsylvania, visit Patch's information hub.