Neshaminy Mall COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Now Open: What To Know

BENSALEM, PA — Bucks County's fourth public vaccination clinic opened Tuesday at Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem.

With the new clinic joining three others on Bucks County Community College campuses, health department director Dr. David Damsker said the county could give more than 10,000 first and second-dose shots this week.

That's a big jump for the county. Since opening on Feb. 16, the three existing clinics have been able to give about 19,500 vaccinations, largely limited by smaller-than-requested shipments of the vaccine.

Adding in numbers from the county-run clinic that vaccinated healthcare workers at Woods Services in Langhorne, Damsker estimated that the county has given about 25,000 vaccinations since their rollout began.

In all, 53,019 people had been fully vaccinated in Bucks County by the end of last week, while another 48,815 have received a single dose of a two-dose vaccine. The county ranks fourth in the state in the number of vaccinations it has administered (with the exception of Philadelphia, which is running its own program separate from the state's).

The new clinic came online after Bucks County received a larger shipment of vaccine than it had been getting. The Pennsylvania Department of Health sent 20,660 doses of vaccine to providers in Bucks County last week — a 50-percent increase over the shipment from the week before.

Meanwhile, new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths continued to decline in Bucks County last week.

A total of 1,027 positive tests were reported from March 7 – 13. That's 83 fewer than the previous week, and brings Bucks County's total since the pandemic began to 47,183.

There were 10 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Bucks County last week, down from 13 the week before and less than half the number that were reported two weeks ago. The county's death toll since the pandemic started stood at 1,155 at week's end.

On Saturday, there were 62 people in Bucks County hospitals with the virus, with just 15 of them in intensive care and nine on ventilators.

Similar reports from across Pennsylvania led Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday to announce he is further relaxing coronavirus restrictions on bars, restaurants and other businesses. Starting April 4, restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues may increase their businesses to 75 percent occupancy.

Restaurants may resume bar service and alcohol service will be allowed without the purchase of food. Additionally, the curfew for removing alcoholic drinks from tables will be lifted.

"Pennsylvanians have stepped up and done their part (to) help curb the spread of COVID-19," Wolf said Monday. "Our case counts continue to go down, hospitalizations are declining, and the percent positivity rate gets lower every week – all very positive signs. The number of people getting vaccinated increases daily and we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel."

In Bucks, officials say the new Neshaminy Mall site alone will be able to handle up to 1,000 vaccinations per day as long as supplies hold up. That's about twice the capacity of clinics at BCCC campuses in Bristol, Newtown and Perkasie.

On Friday, Wolf ordered that all Pennsylvanians eligible under Phase 1A of the state's vaccination plan receive an appointment for their first dose no later than March 28. After the announcement, Bucks County commissioners issued a statement seeking a clearer idea of how much vaccine they'll be receiving before scheduling people weeks in advance.

"It all depends on confirmed supplies of ample, incoming vaccine – something we have not yet received," the statement said. "Like the governor, we share the frustrations of residents who have waited many weeks in vain for a vaccination appointment. But just scheduling a date does not assure when the vaccine will be there for them."

In recent weeks, Bucks and other suburban-Philadelphia counties have been pushing for bigger vaccine supplies after data showed smaller counties throughout the state were receiving proportionately larger supplies early in the vaccination program.

Over the 13 weeks of the state vaccine rollout, about 40 Bucks County providers have received 139,820 doses from the state, about one-fourth of which has gone to the county health department. The rest has gone to hospitals, pharmacies and other providers.

Those numbers don't count doses that were shipped directly to pharmacies by the federal government as part of a program meant to speed up access to the vaccine or Johnson & Johnson vaccine shipped as part of the effort to quickly innocculate teachers and other school employees.

The Neshaminy Mall clinic and other county-run sites are vaccinating people who have signed up to receive a vaccine through the county's Coronavirus Vaccine Information page.