Frustrations mount as people try to register for COVID-19 vaccine
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The COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues to frustrate people in Pennsylvania who want to get the shot.
Kathy Pendracky of Cross Creek Township is among them.
Pendracky, 69, hasn’t been able to find an open appointment for her or her husband, a 70-year-old retired optometrist who has survived two bouts with cancer.
“I’m so frustrated,” said Pendracky. “It’s like a lottery you’re not going to win. I can’t even get on the website for some pharmacies to register for the vaccine, or when I finally get on to register somewhere, all the appointments are filled.”
She did sign up on the Washington Health System website, which, Pendracky said, “had a good sign-up site,” and received notification that she is on the waiting list. St. Clair Hospital has her on a vaccine list, too.
David Fisher of Washington also has been trying to get the vaccine, but hasn’t had much luck.
He was excited when he found out Sam’s Club at Trinity Point is offering the vaccine as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, but was unable to complete the online registration form after a pop-up box said the vaccine was not available at the Washington store.
He also has turned to the state Department of Health’s provider map – which includes colored pins that people can click on to be directed to sites where the vaccine is available – only to find the pharmacy or health care provider does not have any vaccines by the time he gets on the website.
“The process is extremely frustrating,” said Fisher.
Pennsylvania lawmakers, too, have scrutinized the state’s vaccine rollout, which ranks 47th among U.S. states and territories for the number of vaccine doses it’s administered relative to its population, according to federal data.
Lawmakers at a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing in Harrisburg on Monday questioned state health officials and others about the vaccine supply and scheduling problems.
Barry Niccolai, executive director of Centerville Clinics, who spoke at the hearing, said the vaccine allotment of the federally qualified health center – which serves about 40,000 people in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties – was cut from 1,600 doses to 300 doses in two weeks, forcing it to cancel 1,200 first round doses it had scheduled for the week of Feb. 12.
The decreased allotment also caused Centerville Clinics to delay scheduling several hundred teachers who qualify for Phase 1A, at a time when school districts in Washington and Greene counties are returning to partial or full in-person classes.
Niccolai said Centerville Clinics – which is working in partnerships with Washington Health System, Monongahela Valley Hospital, WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital, Highlands Hospital, and county officials and agencies – has the staff, facilities and clinical experience to administer up to 3,000 vaccines each week to health care workers and those in Phase 1A in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“We hope vaccine supplies increase to a level that we can continue to serve our rural residents, many of whom are the most medically and economically fragile among us,” said Niccolai.
Others tasked with administering vaccines at the state and county levels, including pharmacies, reiterated that there are not enough vaccines being allocated to meet demand, especially with the expansion of the Phase 1A group.
The Pennsylvania Health Care Association and representatives from CVS and Walgreens echoed vaccine supply shortage concerns. They said they want to make sure Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable populations in long-term care facilities and the staff who provide care remain at the top of the priority list as the DOH expands eligibility.
In the meantime, Pendracky said she is relieved that her 92-year-old mother-in-law received the vaccine two weeks ago at her long-term care facility, and she will continue to try to get the vaccine.
Pendracky uses curbside pickup, attends Sunday Mass virtually, and only ventures out for doctor’s appointments.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Pendracky. “It just seems like the whole process is so haphazard. Something needs to be done.”