Montco Vaccine Wait Line Grows To 153K, COVID Hotline Launched

NORRISTOWN, PA — Residents in Montgomery County should expect to wait at least 12 weeks to hear back about scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine appointment after registering online, officials said Monday.

That's due to the continued growth of the wait line, which now includes 153,502 pre-registered individuals in the 1A category. That's an increase of around 13,000 from just a week ago, meaning that many more people are signing up than are being vaccinated.

"As a county, we are making steady progress in vaccinating people," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said.

But the county continues to be reliant on supplies from the state, which are dwindling. The county's mass vaccine site at Norristown Area High School shut down for the remainder of the week because it ran out of first doses.

Many residents have expressed continued frustration over the lack of a single, centralized registration system. As things stand, there are dozens of places offering vaccine locally (and more than 1,600 statewide, which is why Montgomery County is receiving fewer doses), including pharmacies, hospitals, and other healthcare providers.

The state says that they have no plans to move to a centralized system, that it wouldn't be helpful, and that residents should only register for an appointment with one location. The county disagrees.

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"If the state is going to disburse to multiple places, I don't know why the state would discourage it," Commissioner Ken Lawrence said.

The county is also more open to the positives of a centralized system, though they note that it's up to the state to implement that, as the county has no jurisdiction to do so.

"I do think, from our constituents perspectives, it would be so much easier for them if they could register and go on to one site quickly and easily and see all the sites in their area where they could get vaccine," Arkoosh said.

Anywhere from 1,300 to 2,700 new registrants have signed up for a vaccine every day in the county in recent weeks. To find where you are in line, you can compare the date you registered to these statistics on daily new registrants.

To help address the confusion and assuage lingering doubts and frustration, the county has launched a few new tools.

One of them is a new COVID-19 hotline which residents can call and ask questions about the vaccine. It's especially being touted as useful for the county's seniors, who may not have access to the Internet.

The number is 833-875-3967. It also features Spanish speaking agents, and language line support for more than 100 other languages. It will be operational from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

A second tool the county is launching is a weekly email blast that will be disbursed out to everyone who has pre-registered. The email will provide an update on vaccination progress, and what registrants can expect when it's their turn.