Local mass vaccination clinic postponed because of vaccine shortage

Borys Krawczeniuk, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·3 min read

Feb. 26—A local COVID-19 vaccine provider postponed a mass vaccination clinic scheduled for Saturday at North Pocono High School.

Allyson Favuzza, co-owner of Hometown Health Care of NEPA in Covington Twp., said she postponed the clinic until March 13 because the state Department of Health could not provide enough second doses of the Moderna vaccine in time.

Favuzza said her center vaccinated about 1,000 people eligible under current rules on Jan. 30 at the high school. Since then, the Department of Health announced a shortage of second doses of Moderna vaccines and said as many as 60,000 second doses could be delayed statewide. Normally, the second Moderna dose is administered 28 days after the first, a period that ends Saturday in the case of Favuzza's vaccinations. Federal guidelines allow for stretching that to 42 days, which allows for March 13 vaccinations.

The department is guaranteeing she will have the 1,000 doses by then, Favuzza said.

"It's going to take place again at North Pocono High School, and all the patients' appointment times will remain the same," she said. "So whatever time they were scheduled for on (Saturday), they're scheduled for on the 13th. Unfortunately, it's a little bit of a mess right now. And you know, the state is really working hard to correct this."

"They're doing the best with what they have," Favuzza added. "However, it's extremely frustrating, not only to patients out there who are still trying to get their vaccine, but to us as providers who were told originally that we were guaranteed second doses by day 28."

So far, at least 1,531,194 state residents have received at least the first dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, according to data posted on the state's vaccine dashboard.

In local counties, Lackawanna has had 40,536 residents receive at least the first dose; Luzerne, 52,843; Monroe, 13,533; Pike, 4,296; Susquehanna, 4,021; Wayne, 6,666; and Wyoming, 3,445.

Daily cases, deaths

The seven-county Northeast Pennsylvania region recorded fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases for the fifth day in a row, the first time that happened since early November.

The 173 new cases increased the total to 56,366 in the region that includes Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

Statewide, the state Department of Health recorded another 2,356 new cases, the fewest in a single day since Nov. 2.

In all, Pennsylvania has recorded 922,990 confirmed or probable cases of the virus.

The Department of Health recorded another 81 deaths for 23,868 total.

In the region, another four deaths raised the total to 1,610.

By county:

Lackawanna added 47 cases for 13,772 total, including 2,052 probable, and remained at 414 deaths.

Luzerne added 71 cases for 24,737 total, including 1,802 probable. Two new deaths raised the county total to 724.

Monroe added 23 cases for 9,543 total, including 243 probable. Two new deaths raised the county total to 266.

Pike added 16 cases for 2,477 total, including 203 probable, and remained at 47 deaths.

Susquehanna added three cases for 1,689 total, including 189 probable, and remained at 53 deaths.

Wayne added 10 cases for 2,994 total, including 257 probable, and remained at 66 deaths.

Wyoming added three cases for 1,154 total, including 195 probable, and remained at 40 deaths.

Contact the writer:

bkrawczeniuk

@timesshamrock.com

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570-348-9147;

@BorysBlogTT on Twitter.