Montco officials chide social media users for ‘immoral’ vaccine sharing
NORRISTOWN » Characterizing it as unethical, Montgomery County officials say some residents are sharing COVID-19 vaccine appointment links on social media at a time when the county is dealing with a scarcity of vaccine.
“Unfortunately, people are sharing their links and it is possible for other people, if they do it quickly enough, to jump in and make an appointment for themselves. People are taking these links and posting them on social media and this creates the opportunity for people to jump the line and for people who are not eligible to register. This is not ethical or moral and it needs to stop,” county Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said during a Wednesday news briefing.
“It’s extremely frustrating to folks that are
eligible and have been following all of the rules and patiently waiting their turn to see others grab a link off Facebook and make an appointment for themselves,” Arkoosh added. “People jumping the line just have no business doing that.”
Given the limited supply of vaccine, officials said people will be turned away at the vaccination site if they do not fall in the groups that are eligible to be vaccinated.
Arkoosh pleaded with residents to not forward appointment links to family and friends.
“If you receive an appointment link, that link is only meant for you, based on your eligibility and whether it is your first or second dose,” Arkoosh said. “Given the scarcity of the vaccine, we need to pull together as a community and make sure that our most vulnerable get vaccinated first.”
Officials reiterated that COVID-19 vaccines continue to be in extremely limited quantity and residents are urged to have patience as the vaccine rollout continues.
“The Pennsylvania Department of Health changes to the vaccine eligibility announced two weeks ago dramatically expanded the eligible group of recipients. However, there has been no comparable increase in the amount of vaccine that we are receiving. In fact, the Montgomery County Office of Public Health received 3,500 fewer first doses this week than we did last week,” said Arkoosh, who was joined at the news briefing by fellow Commissioner Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr.
“The vaccine situation is changing on a daily basis and I want to ask our community to have understanding and patience during this ongoing situation,” added Arkoosh, who as a physician has been at the forefront of the county’s efforts to combat COVID-19 and provide citizens with the latest information regarding the outbreak.
Two weeks ago, state health officials expanded coronavirus vaccination protocols, opening the door for everyone 65 years and older, and those 16 to 64 with specific underlying medical conditions, to receive the vaccine.
Those categories were added to Phase 1A of the state’s phased vaccination program. Phase 1A previously included only healthcare workers and those residing in long-term care facilities.
With the expanded definitions for the 1A group, county officials estimated that about 250,000 additional people qualify for vaccination in Montgomery County as part of Phase 1A.
“We do have the infrastructure in place to administer a lot of vaccine each day. We just need more vaccine,” Arkoosh said.
Appointments are required to receive a vaccine. All those now eligible for the vaccine in Phase 1A can pre-register to receive the vaccine through the county health department. The pre-registration link can be found at www. montcopa.org/COVID-19 under the vaccination information button. Appointments are required.
Four weeks ago, the Montgomery County Office of Public Health began vaccinating, at a public vaccination clinic hosted by the Montgomery County Community College campus in Whitpain, those eligible in Phase 1A. At the clinic, officials administered about 1,000 doses each day.
As of Wednesday, 139,926 people had pre-registered on the county site for an appointment.
“At this time, depending upon when you registered, it may be up to 12 weeks before you hear back from us about scheduling an appointment,” Arkoosh explained. “We do not have any certainty about how much vaccine we are going to receive each week until the vaccine actually arrives.”
On Wednesday, the vaccination clinic at MCCC began serving only those who are returning for their second doses of the vaccine.
Additionally, on Wednesday, county health officials opened a new vaccination clinic at Norristown High School to serve those who have appointments to receive their first dose of the vaccine.
Arkoosh thanked Norristown Area School Board President Shae Ashe and district Superintendent Christopher Dormer for their support and partnership for making the high school available for the county vaccination program.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported on Wednesday that 12,336 county residents had received the full two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines through Feb. 2. Another 48,704 residents had received the first dose of the vaccine, according to state data.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses to achieve optimum protection.
As officials hope to ramp up the vaccination program in the next several weeks, they reported on Wednesday that 1,572 additional people, ranging in age from 3 months to 100, tested positive for the virus between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 43,220 since March 7, when the first two cases of the virus were identified in the county. Forty-seven of the new cases were individuals who resided in longterm care facilities.
The county currently is averaging about 225 new positive cases each day.
Officials also reported 22 new COVID-19 deaths between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2, bringing the county’s death toll to 1,147 since the pandemic began in March.
The overall 14-day COVID-19 positivity rate for the county, as of Jan. 28, was 7.93% which was a decrease from the 8.53% positivity rate recorded during the previous 14-day period ending Jan. 21, according to county data.
Health officials believe having a positivity rate less than 5% indicates a county is controlling the spread of the virus and keeping it suppressed.
On Wednesday, 255 individuals with COVID-19 were in the county’s nine hospitals and 37 of the current patients require ventilators. Those figures represented a reduction from the 289 people hospitalized last week.
Last week, officials identified the county’s first documented case of a more contagious coronavirus variant that was first identified in the United Kingdom. Officials identified the individual as a 30-year-old bartender, who did not require hospitalization.
Arkoosh said on Wednesday that officials have not received notice of any additional cases of the U.K. or other variants in the county.
While vaccine is becoming available in the county, officials warned residents not to become complacent in the fight against the virus and to continue abiding
by recommended mitigation measures such as mask wearing, washing of hands and social distancing.
“Those three things remain critical. We are far from out of the woods yet,” Arkoosh said.
Testing is available for all county residents and those who work in the county and want or need to be tested. The county has established outdoor walkup testing sites in Pottstown, Norristown, Lansdale, Willow Grove, Ardmore and Green Lane to accommodate those who want to be tested.
The six county-run sites provide self-administered tests at no cost, although insurance will be billed if you have it. The sites do require an appointment for testing.
The six sites are open Monday through Friday, weather permitting and at varying hours. Same-day appointments can be made weekdays starting at 7 a.m. by visiting www.montcopa. org/COVID-19 and clicking on the county testing information button. Residents can also register for a test at any of the six sites by calling 610-970-2937 beginning at 8:30 a.m. daily.
In Pottstown, the testing site is located at the county’s Office of Public Health Pottstown Health Center at 364 King St. This Saturday, the Pottstown testing site will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Appointments for Saturday tests can be reserved online only starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5.
In Norristown, a testing site is located on the parking lot of the Delaware Valley Community Health Norristown Regional Health Center at 1401 DeKalb St.
In Lansdale, a testing site is located at 421 Main St. Another testing site is located at Deep Creek and Snyder roads in the Green Lane Park area.
In Ardmore, a testing site is located at 114 W. Lancaster Avenue. In Willow Grove, a testing site is at First Baptist Church - Crestmont, 1678 Fairview Ave.
“People are taking these links and posting them on social media and this creates the opportunity for people to jump the line and for people who are not eligible to register.” — Montgomery County Commissioner Dr. Valerie Arkoosh