Chester County Vaccine Supply Half Of Requested Amount: Updates

This story was updated on Feb. 12 at 2 p.m.

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — The Chester County Health Department has received only half of the doses of the COVID-19 vaccine it has requested and says at the current rate, the county will be able to vaccinate 4,380 people each week.

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in Chester County is crawling along as officials here await supplies, with 5,700 vaccine doses promised by the state for next week.

Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed that the Chester County Health Department will be receiving 2,500 first doses next week and 3,200 second doses – total of 5,700 doses, a county official said on Friday afternoon.

The 2,500 first-round vaccine doses will be the first the county health department will have been able to distribute in two weeks, as last week's supply of 3,200 doses went out as second doses.

"As the sixth most populated county in Pennsylvania, Chester County should be receiving more COVID-19 vaccine doses than we are currently getting," said County Information Officer Becky Brain.

"It is not for want of asking. The Chester County Health Department has requested nearly 51,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since Dec. 17, and to date, we have received just half of what was requested," Brain added.

All vaccine providers across the county, including hospitals, pharmacies, and the county health department, have received 18,500 vaccines in the last week, the county reported.

"At the current level of vaccine doses received by the Chester County Health Department, we estimate that 4,380 people in Phase 1A will receive the vaccine each week from the Health Department," the county said on Friday.

The Chester County Commissioners reported they are working in support of the Chester County Health Department, and on behalf of all county residents, to appeal to the PA Department of Health on the need for more vaccine in more highly populated areas of the state, AND to ask that priority be given to the Chester County Health Department as a vaccine provider.

"We have shared this with our state legislators so that they can also lobby for our appeal for more vaccine. We are also adding to, and improving upon services and programs every day including personalized vaccine appointments that are password-protected, and contracts signed for more vaccine clinic locations across the county that will open as more vaccine doses are delivered to us. Next week, we are expanding our call center capabilities — in English and Spanish — to answer questions, pre-register for the vaccine, and schedule appointments when internet booking isn’t an option," said Brain, speaking for the commissioners.

As availability increases, so too will the number of people that will be vaccinated each week, the county said in a statement issued Friday afternoon.

The county currently holds vaccine clinics in three locations — The Government Services Center in West Chester, the Kennett Square Fire Company’s Red Clay Room, and West Chester University’s Sturzebecker Health Sciences Center.

Accounting for all health partners who are giving vaccinations in the county, 24,768 first-doses of the vaccine have been given here in all, and 6,569 have received second doses, according to Chester County Health Department reports.

At this time last week, Chester County's health department had vaccinated just over 12,000 of the 154,704 persons eligible for COVID-19 shots in the Phase 1A category, as demand continues to heavily outpace supply.

Registrations keep stacking up, though. To date, the county health department said it had received more than 182,000 pre-registrations with the Chester County Health Department to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Registration numbers had not yet been updated as of Friday afternoon, but this story will be updated when those numbers are published.

Those registered as interested in receiving the vaccine will be notified when an appointment is available, with a personalized link for booking, the county's statement said. Appointments for second vaccines will be made at the time of receiving the first dose.

Along with the Chester County Health Department, some hospitals and pharmacies in Chester County are receiving vaccine doses from the PA Department of Health. You can find these locations listed on the PA Department of Health vaccine provider map.

The Chester County Health Department said it does not distribute vaccine to these locations and does not have control over how the vaccine is distributed by the PA Department of Health.

"We are, however, lobbying for more doses to come to the Chester County Health Department, to allow for a more efficient and centralized vaccine administration operation," officials said.

Health Department officials reminded residents that wherever they go to receive a first dose of vaccine is where they need to go to receive your second dose.

More information on COVID-19 vaccination in Chester County can be found here.

To pre-register for a vaccine, go here. To view the list of Phases for vaccination, go to this page.

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