Third Mass Vaccine Clinic To Open In Montgomery County

NORRISTOWN, PA — A third community mass vaccination site is coming to Montgomery County, possibly within the next week, officials confirmed Wednesday.

The new site will be located near the Willow Grove Mall, in a strip mall across the street. The exact date for its opening has not yet been announced, as it is dependent upon the shipments of the vaccine the county receives next week.

"We're optimistic we'll be able to open this site next week," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said Wednesday.

The site will have a huge capacity, up to 10,000 doses a day, once enough supply received. That includes about 5,000 first doses and 5,000 second doses.

In the short term, Arkoosh said it's more realistic to expect closer to 500 doses a day, given the supply shortage.

"But we are building it for that level of capacity, knowing that more vaccine is coming," she added.

The site will be in addition to the county's two existing community sites, at Norristown Area High School and Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell. These sites are in addition to private clinics set up by pharmacies and healthcare organizations, which also receive some allocation of doses from the state.

Future sites are being considered, and will open as more vaccine becomes available. Sites in the western part of the county, which is farther geographically from these first three sites, are in the works.

The county received another increase in shipments this week, with 40,440 new doses received. Both clinics ran smoothly this week, after closures last month due to a shortage of vaccine supply.

However, the wait line in the county is now at 185,000, and it's still estimated that it will take 12 weeks from the time of preregistration until they receive notification of a scheduled appointment.

If you are within the eligible 1A category, you can preregister for an appointment here.