BUCKS COUNTY – COVID-19 vaccine clinics will open next week on the three campuses of Bucks County Community College, provincial officials announced Thursday.
The clinics will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on campuses in the townships of Bristol, Newtown and East Rockhill, by appointment only. According to Audrey Kenny, director of interim emergency services, each clinic will administer 200 doses per day offered to people falling into the 1A phase and reported through the province’s pre-registration website.
Provincial officials announced the clinics Thursday during a news conference, where they also addressed ongoing frustrations from residents anxiously waiting their turn for the first dose of vaccine. Commissioners said the biggest obstacle to getting residents the COVID-19 vaccine is a lack of supplies.
“We are doing everything we can,” Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia told a news conference on Thursday. “We can not get vials of vaccine that have not yet been made.”
The province is also contracting with a company called AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, which provides the province with registration assistance and clinical support, Kenny said.
About 86 percent of the vaccine doses that come into the country are to pharmacies and hospitals and not to the country itself, Commissioner Bob Harvie said.
“The frustration is that the state has expanded the suitability for 1A without having enough vaccine available,” said David Damsker, director of health at Bucks County. “It’s frustrating for everyone. When I’m angry about it, I understand, people are scared, but we can only give the amount of vaccine we have. We spend as much as we can give.”
The province had an average of less than 200 new coronavirus cases per day last week, the lowest number since November, while COVID-related deaths and hospitalizations are also still declining, Damsker noted.
A total of 1,071 people have died in Bucks County, according to COVID-19, according to the Department of Health. Vaccination figures from the state show that 34,740 people received partial vaccinations in the country, the fourth highest county in the state.
The state launched a new tool called YourTurn earlier this week to help residents find their place in line.
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