Vaccine rates fall across region
But health officials say ‘we still have work to do’ to reach holdouts
There was no wait for a COVID-19 vaccine at the Allentown Fairgrounds Agri-Plex on a recent Thursday morning.
The complex was mostly empty and the 68-seat waiting area had more than enough room to handle the 10 to 20 people who had just received their vaccination. Allentown Health Bureau volunteers and staff members had plenty of time to scroll on their phones, sip coffee and chat with each other as they waited to give shots. In the first 45 minutes the clinic was open, about 40 people showed up for a shot.
It was in stark contrast to just a couple months ago, when receiving the vaccine felt like winning the lottery. In early March, before universal vaccine eligibility, the Agri-Plex was bursting with people seeking the shot. Lines extended out the doors. Volunteers and workers were in constant motion getting shots in as many arms as possible.
Now, following a trend that is being seen throughout the country, vaccination rates have plummeted in the Lehigh Valley. In mid-April, an average of about 7,100 people were vaccinated per day in the Lehigh Valley, but now the Valley averages about 2,600 per day, according to the state Department of Health data.
Nationally, vaccine distribution from mid-April to early June has declined from 3.3 million people vaccinated per day to 1.1 million, jeopardizing President Joe Biden’s goal of getting shots to at least 70% of adults by July 4.
As a result, the Allentown Health Bureau will hold its last vaccine clinic at the Agri-Plex on June 24. After that, the health bureau will hold pop-up clinics as needed.
“It does get a little slow sometimes,” said David Synnamon, injury prevention manager for the Allentown Health Bureau. “We went from the point of doing 1,500 a day to a couple hundred a day at Ag. Hall.”
Like Allentown, the Bethlehem Health Bureau has also seen vaccine rates decrease substantially, health bureau Director Kristen Wenrich said. That’s why the bureau held its last vaccine clinic at Wind Creek Bethlehem on June 4 and now holds clinics at the much smaller Bethlehem City Hall. Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke’s University Health Network, both of which had mass vaccine clinics, have also had fewer people booking vaccine appointments or walking in for a shot, though both health networks couldn’t give exact numbers.
Mark O’Neil, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the main reason behind the decrease is because the majority of people who wanted the vaccine the most have already received it.
In Lehigh County, 56% of people 12 and older have been vaccinated as of Tuesday, and in Northampton County it is 52%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s slightly better than the 49% of the eligible population in the United States that is fully vaccinated.
“Even though Pennsylvania is still averaging administering more than 30,000 vaccines per day, we still have work to do to get more eligible Pennsylvanians vaccinated,” O’Neil said.
The latest data from the Health Department, the Philadelphia Health Bureau and the CDC show that more than 7.6 million Pennsylvanians have received at least one of the 12.66 million vaccinations administered throughout the state, accounting for 69.2% of the eligible 12-and-older population. Over 5.8 million of those people — 52.8% — are fully vaccinated, while close to 1.7 million people are in need of their second dose.
While the number of COVID19 cases has declined, there are still people catching the virus. Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 560 additional coronavirus cases, the highest single-day total of the week.
But polls, including local ones, have found that about one-third of Americans do not plan to get vaccinated. Those holdouts can affect the widespread immunity that health officials say is needed to avoid another resurgence of cases. Additionally, herd immunity, the point where enough people are vaccinated that those who don’t get the vaccine are also protected, is not yet in sight.
Previously Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, infectious disease expert for St. Luke’s, pinpointed herd immunity at 80% of the population being fully vaccinated or having natural immunity.
That’s why at least 11 states, including New York and Ohio, are offering vaccinated residents the chance to win monetary awards ranging from $100 to $5 million. Alabama is giving away sports tickets. Minnesota residents can win passes to state parks or fishing licenses. New York state has even created a scholarship as an incentive to get vaccinated. The New York “Vaccine Scholarship Incentive” will allow 50 children between 12 to 17 to win a fouryear, full-ride scholarship to public colleges or universities in the state if they can show they are vaccinated. Ohio launched a similar program.
In Washington state, marijuana stores can offer free joints to those who get vaccinated. The state Liquor and Cannabis Board is calling the effort the “Joints for Jabs” program.
Penn State created a drawing where vaccinated students and employees can win prizes that include $1,000, a $100 Barnes & Noble gift card or a football signed by Penn State coach James Franklin. Philadelphia launched the “Philly Vax Sweepstakes,” an event with multiple drawings of cash prizes. Each drawing will result in two residents winning the grand prize of $50,000, four will win $5,000 and six will win prizes of $1,000.
Pennsylvania has not launched any state-level incentive program, but O’Neil said it is trying to encourage more people to get vaccinated, including launching “PA Unites Against COVID,” a marketing campaign that focuses on reaching people disproportionally affected by the pandemic.