BUCKS COUNTY – COVID-19 vaccine clinics will open next week on the three campuses at Bucks County Community College, county officials announced on Thursday.
The clinics will be open from 11 am to 7 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, on campuses in the districts of Bristol, Newtown and East Rockhill, by appointment only. Each clinic will administer 200 doses per day, offered to people who fall into phase 1A and have registered through the county’s pre-registration website, according to Audrey Kenny, Provisional Director of Emergency Management Services.
County officials announced the clinics during a news conference on Thursday, where they also addressed the continuing frustrations of residents who were anxiously awaiting their turn for the first dose of the vaccine. Commissioners said the biggest obstacle to getting residents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine is a lack of supplies.
“We are doing everything we can,” Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said at a news conference on Thursday. “We can’t get vaccine bottles that haven’t been made yet.”
The county is also hiring a company called AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, which is providing the county with over-the-counter help and clinical support, Kenny said.
About 86 percent of vaccine doses that arrive in the county went to pharmacies and hospitals, not the county itself, said Commissioner Bob Harvie.
“The frustration is that the state has expanded eligibility for 1A without having enough vaccine available,” said David Damsker, Bucks County Health Director. “It is frustrating for everyone. If people are angry about this, I understand, people are afraid, but we can only give the number of vaccines we have. We are distributing as much as we can distribute.”
The county averaged less than 200 new cases of coronavirus a day last week, the lowest number since November, while COVID-related deaths and hospitalizations also continue to decline, noted Damsker.
A total of 1,071 people died in Bucks County from COVID-19, according to the state health department. State vaccination figures show that 34,740 people received partial vaccines in the municipality, the fourth largest municipality in the state.
The state launched a new tool earlier this week, called YourTurn, to help residents find their place in the queue.
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