SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – Cars lined the parking lot at Dorney Park for a mass vaccination clinic on Wednesday.
It took two weeks of planning for the Lehigh Valley health network to put the operation into operation.
“We are very excited about this, we are glad that our community for over 75 years is willing to participate in this type of effort,” said Dr. Alex Benjamin, LVHN.
LVHN is no stranger to the operation of mass vaccination sites, as it has a self-influenza clinic each year, but doctors say a COVID vaccination site has several obstacles.
Dr. Timothy Friel, an infectious disease specialist for LVHN, said the biggest challenge was not knowing when they would receive doses or how much.
“This makes planning for mass vaccination campaigns like this very, very challenging,” he told Ali Reid of WFMZ.
There must also be a special car park for people to wait the required 15 minutes after the vaccine is given.
All appointments for the drive-thru clinic have been completed quickly, and the LVHN intends to vaccinate approximately 1,000 people, aged 75 and over.
All entrants also received a follow-up appointment to receive the second dose of Moderna vaccine in a few weeks.
“This is really the only promised type of vaccine that we are aware of right now, according to the state. The second dose will be sustained,” Benjamin said.
LVHN said it has the capacity to vaccinate at least 5,000 a day, when an adequate amount is available.
St. John’s Health Network Luke also conducts mass vaccination sites in the 11 locations of his hospital. A spokesman said he could vaccinate up to 5,000 people a day, but the supply was limited for them as well, so at the moment about 3,000 doses are being given daily.
“It was frustrating and disappointing because we all relied on the federal government through this process to make sure we had the vaccines,” Gov. Tom Wolf told a news conference Tuesday.
About 4 million people in Pennsylvania are now eligible for group 1A vaccine, which means 8 million doses should be released in the first phase.
At the moment, the state is far behind.
“We’ve got about 1.5 million vaccines, and since it’s a two-shot cycle, that means we have enough for almost 750,000 retirees,” Wolf said.