Bucks Co. Vaccine Clinics Give Record Number Of Shots

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — With a new location open and an improved supply of vaccine, Bucks County's public COVID-19 vaccination clinics gave a record number of shots on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Clinics in Bensalem, Bristol, Newtown and Perkasie administered 2,374 vaccines on Wednesday, after giving 2,260 shots on Tuesday to people eligible under Phase 1A of Pennsylvania's vaccination plan. More than 1,000 of those doses on Tuesday were given at Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem, which opened that day.

The vaccinations given at county clinics are in addition to those being given at Bucks County hospitals, doctor's offices and pharmacies.

As of Thursday morning, 56,773 people had been fully vaccinated in Bucks County and another 56,178 had received a single dose of a two-dose vaccine, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

After complaining, along with other suburban Philadelphia counties, about the amount of vaccine it was receiving from the state, Bucks County last week got a heftier 20,660 doses from the department of health.

That was a dramatic increase from the 13,810 shots Bucks had gotten the week before.

Bucks County is overseeing its four vaccination sites through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare. The first three sites, at Bucks County Community College campuses in Perkasie, Newtown and Bristol, have been running since Feb. 16.

Those sites had delivered about 19,500 doses of vaccine through last week, showing how dramatic Tuesday's single-day number was. At Tuesday's rate, that number could be hit in less than nine days.

The spacious Neshaminy Mall clinic will at least double the county's vaccine capability, according to officials. On Tuesday, the site gave 1,001 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine, while the community college sites gave 644 first doses and 615 second doses.

On Wednesday, the Bucks County Board of Commissioners approved another vaccine clinic at a former Giant supermarket at 2395 York Rd. in Warwick.

It would become the county's sixth public vaccination site. Space at St. Luke's Quakertown campus was reserved earlier this month, but has not been used because there has not been enough vaccine to do so, officials said.

"Now we just need lots of doses of vaccine," said commission Chairwoman Diane Ellis-Marseglia.

County health officials continue were waiting Thursday to learn how much vaccine they'll get for next week. They have said whatever the county receives for next week is likely to remain constant for several weeks to come.