Excela Health has more vaccine doses than appointments in Westmoreland County

Some coronavirus vaccine appointments at Excela Health’s North Huntingdon clinic have been going unfilled, causing concern that demand is dropping while new positive cases rise.

An increase in supply allowed the health system to streamline its registry, making it easier for anyone interested in getting the vaccine to make an appointment at excelahealth.org, said Dr. Carol Fox, Excela’s chief medical officer. Officials are administering Moderna vaccines at the clinic to anyone 18 and older.

“For new, first doses, I think the demand has slowed down and I don’t know if it’s vaccine hesitancy,” Fox said, or whether it is general concerns about safety after distribution of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine was paused this week because of a blood clot issue in a minuscule percentage of patients.

The state Department of Health notified providers Thursday that the Johnson & Johnson pause would continue until April 24 or until updated guidance is provided by federal authorities.

“Are people anxious as a result of that? Were they never intending to get vaccinated?” Fox asked.

The questions come as an increase in new positive cases of the virus and hospitalizations have been reported locally and statewide in recent weeks. About 44% of Westmoreland County’s adult population has been immunized, according to state health data.

“We would like to ideally be at 75% or 80%,” Fox said.

Excela Health has received 45,000 vaccine doses since mid-December when they were first authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, according to spokeswoman Robin Jennings. Of those, 16,500 have yet to be administered. There are about 13,000 appointments scheduled and more than 31,000 vaccines have been given, she said. Appointments are open to the public.

Anyone 16 and older is eligible in Pennsylvania to get the coronavirus vaccine. Fox said there have been no significant adverse reactions or hospitalizations locally related to either of the two-shot vaccines from Moderna or Pfizer, which is the only one currently available for ages 16 to 18.

Immunizations through Excela Health are being conducted by appointment only at the former Galaxy Fitness building near Excela Square at Norwin. Staff members can give up to 2,000 inoculations daily. The clinic opened March 18 three days a week, but Fox said the health system has the capacity to expand the number of first and second doses given, up to 10,000 a week, if needed.

An increasing supply of the vaccine over the past couple of months has allowed Excela and other providers to open up online scheduling systems. It appears other providers may be experiencing a similar problem with filling appointments though.

A clinic scheduled Friday at Saint Vincent College in Unity through Mainline Pharmacy had 18 appointments still available midday Thursday. Dozens more appointments at St. Barbara Parish in Penn Township in the next few days and weeks remained available.

A handful of appointments remained for a Saturday clinic through LVRx Pharmacy in Ligonier.

Other clinics around the region this week opened up to walk-ins, including one run by UPMC at Pittsburgh Mills mall.

Fox said access to the vaccine is great now, after months of scarcity earlier. Excela Health has been working with local businesses, churches and other groups, as well as existing patients, to spread the word that everyone is eligible to get the vaccine, regardless of whether they are an Excela patient.

“If you’re in this vicinity and you need a vaccine, we’re going to give it to you,” she said.

Across the county, 52,800 people are partially covered by the coronavirus vaccine, according to state figures. More than 79,000 have been fully vaccinated.

More than half of Allegheny County’s adult population is vaccinated.

Experts estimate at least 70% and as many as 90% of people will need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, or the point where the disease stops spreading because enough of the population has antibodies against it. Some 25% of Americans say they probably or definitely will not get vaccinated, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

A nationwide “We Can Do This” campaign was launched recently to encourage vaccines among people who were hesitant.