Tower Health Facilities Vaccinate As Supply Arrives

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — Vaccination of hospital staff began late in December at Phoenixville Hospital-Tower Health and has been going smoothly, Tower Health reported shortly after the rollout began.

But six weeks later Tower Health, like the Chester County Health Department, can only vaccinate as swiftly — or as slowly — as state vaccine supplies arrive week-by-week.

Tower Health said it makes weekly requests to the state for vaccine supply and receives weekly shipments from the state. A Tower Health spokesperson explained, "the health system does not automatically receive the amount of vaccine requested."

Tower Health said today that it continues in Phase 1A of "the safe administration of COVID-19 vaccines to members of the community, in accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) guidelines."

"The amount of vaccine received is determined by the state and establishes how many individuals we can vaccinate," said Jessica Bezler, Public Relations Manager for Tower Health, on Monday.

"At this time 17,439 individuals have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a Tower Health facility," Bezler reported.

She said all Tower Health vaccinations are administered by appointment only and must be scheduled through a MyTowerHealth account. Instructions for registering for a MyTowerHealth account are available on the TowerHealth website.

Phoenixville Hospital-Tower Health is among four hospitals in Chester County that have received doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. Three other Tower Health hospitals in Chester County also received vaccines beginning late in December; Phoenixville Hospital, Jennersville Hospital, and Brandywine Hospital.

Hospital staff caring directly for COVID-19 patients were the first to receive vaccinations, Tower Health said in December.

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