Vaccine Supply Increase In Bucks Co. Not Expected Until March

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The rate of new coronavirus infections in Bucks County continued to flatten last week, as health officials worked to get a "disappointing" supply of vaccine doses to the public.

As three public vaccine clinics opened in the county, officials this week said they expect bigger shipments to start arriving — but not until next month.

Last week was "a disappointing week for vaccine supplies," county officials said in a news release. Bucks County received 6,725 vaccine doses from the state Department of Health, about 29 percent less than the average from recent weeks.

Dr. David Damsker, director of the Bucks County Department of Health, said he doesn't expect a significant increase in the weekly state allotment until next month.

Last week, an average of 192 new COVID-19 cases per day were reported in Bucks County, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. That's down from 197 the week before and marks a weeks-long decline in new cases after a fall surge was followed by even bigger holiday-season spikes.

Bucks County's declining seven-day average, from Feb. 7-13, represented 1,489 new COVID cases, bringing the county's total to 42,986 since the pandemic began. It followed encouraging news across Pennsylvania and the nation, where the new-case averaged dipped below 100,00 for the first time since November.

In December, that average was regularly above 200,000 cases per day and, in January, it reached 250,000. Health officials called the progress encouraging, but noted that current infection rates remain more than twice what they were during the summer.

RELATED: Hundreds Of Bucks Co. Vaccine Appointments Canceled, Postponed

Bucks County's test positivity rate fell back below 10 percent for the first time in several weeks last week, dipping from 10.6 percent to 9.6 percent.

Sadly, the number of new coronavirus-related deaths remained in the double digits in Bucks last week. There were 29 new deaths attributed to the virus by the Pennsylvania Department of Health last week, bringing the county's total to 1,085 since the pandemic began.

On the vaccine front, Bucks County ended last week with 35,526 people having received a partial vaccination and another 16,851 having gotten both shots of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

In Pennsylvania, both state and local officials have expressed frustration at the amount of vaccine that has been delivered here by the federal government. On Wednesday, Bucks officials noted that the county has been efficient with the vaccine it has received.

Through last week, Bucks County had administered 84 percent of the doses it received from the state. That's higher than the 77 percent average across the nation and the 68 percent average throughout Pennsylvania, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bucks County Vaccine Clinics Open Tuesday: What To Know

Alison Beam, Pennsylvania's acting secretary of health, said Friday that the state will start sending larger amounts of vaccine to providers who are able to immunize people most quickly — namely county health departments and larger hospitals.

Primary care doctors and other small providers will get a smaller share of the overall vaccine supply, she said.

"I understand how frustrating the current vaccine process can seem and we have heard from many Pennsylvanians that are struggling to schedule an appointment," Beam said during a news conference. "As there is very limited COVID-19 vaccine supply compared to demand, every possible effort must be made so that the vaccine received in the commonwealth is effectively administered."

The Bucks County Health Department, which opened public vaccination clinics on three Bucks County Community College campuses on Tuesday, has now become the leading recipient of vaccine in the county, getting 15,750 county's 82,525 doses over the past nine weeks.

Click Here To Register For A COVID-19 Vaccination In Bucks County

Officials said 3,000 first doses of the Moderna vaccine will be given at the campuses by Saturday to residents 65 and older and those with health conditions that qualify them for Phase 1A of the state's vaccination plan.

A week-by-week spreadsheet of facilities in Bucks County and across Pennsylvania that have received vaccine can be found here.

The Bucks County Board of Commissioners continues to urge the public to download a free COVID Alert PA app, which uses Bluetooth technology to let a person know that they have been exposed to COVID-19 without compromising the identity or location of either the person using the app, or of the person to whom they may have been exposed.

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