Allegheny County officials said Wednesday that they are planning to take the vaccine doses at high altitudes and similar communities, by setting up a telephone registry and looking for ways to streamline the registration process.
The steps take time, officials said, and take a larger and more reliable supply of vaccine. The country – as well as suppliers across the region – are struggling to plan for future vaccine appointments when the allocations are unpredictable in quantity and on arrival.
“I know there is a lot of frustration,” said Dr. Debra Bogen, health director of the country, said. ‘Clinics are filling up fast. The state registration system is confusing and sometimes it does not work. You wonder when you can get a vaccine and how you can get a vaccine. I really hear you. ”
Following the start of vaccine distribution appointments last week, all the slots were filled in less than 30 minutes, Bogen said. Now, staff members of the health department are going to make appointments of everyone who is registered on the province’s website, and cancel appointments for people who are not eligible.
Bogen said the province is still experiencing shortages of the vaccine supply. She estimates that about a third of the population is now eligible – but there are not enough doses to go around.
In general, however, Bogen said vaccinations are on the rise in communities across the country. The health department received about 50,000 doses last week, about double the previous week.
All the provinces’ health systems and various pharmacies in the community offer doses, and the health department received enough vaccine this week to ensure the second doses while the vaccination continues with the first dose.
“We have so many willing and competent people and organizations ready to help vaccinate,” she said.
Provincial officials were hopeful that the new presidential government would regulate federal efforts to reorganize vaccine vaccinations and simplify vaccine production and distribution.
President Joe Biden on Monday aimed to vaccinate at least 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office. He said there would be enough vaccine for 300 million doses by the end of the summer. Biden also appealed to the Defense Production Act to increase the production of the vaccines.
“I think the fact that the president and his team just focused on this and really made it a priority – to meet with the manufacturers, to put in place plans for distribution … it seems to me that it will improve , “said the County Executive. Rich Fitzgerald said.
As the deployment of vaccines develops, Allegheny County’s Covid-19 levels are ‘encouraging’, Bogen said.
The average daily number of cases is less than 300 this week, 120 less than last week. The province’s positivity rate also fell to 7.8%, down 1.6% from last week. The decline has enabled the health department to spend more time on case investigations for all. In late November, the Department of Health announced that investigators should prioritize the people they call due to the number of new cases being reported.
Nevertheless, Bogen asked residents not to let the numbers “sus” to think that it is safe to stop practicing safety – especially with new variants of the virus. She said the health department is looking for signs to see if the variants occur in Allegheny County and surrounding areas.
“If this variant becomes the dominant tribe in our region, it could undo all the hard work we have done to reduce the number of cases,” she said.
Teghan Simonton is an author of the staff of Tribune-Review. You can contact Teghan at 724-226-4680, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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