Excela Health to open North Huntingdon vaccine clinic; to give 2K shots daily by appointment

Excela Health is upping its capacity to provide coronavirus vaccine by opening a clinic at an empty building in North Huntingdon.

The clinic will begin operations Thursday at the former Galaxy Fitness building near Excela Square at Norwin, Chief Medical Officer Carol Fox said. Staff members will be able to give about 2,000 inoculations daily, more than doubling the amount the health system had been doing, she said.

“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to vaccinate more individuals,” she said. “We’re constantly revamping … our registration process to make it easier.”

The move comes as state health officials push vaccine providers to schedule appointments by the end of the month for everyone in the first phase of Pennsylvania’s immunization plan. Phase 1A includes health care workers, long-term care residents, anyone older than 65 and those who are 16 to 64 with certain health conditions.

Those individuals have struggled to find appointments from the beginning of the rollout, often because of a lack of supply. Pennsylvania vaccine providers will be receiving a total of 278,670 first-dose shots this week, along with 242,270 second-dose shots. According to the Department of Health, the state has been allocated nearly 4.7 million doses since December, and providers have administered more than 3.8 million shots.

Excela Health has either given or is scheduled to give 30,000 immunizations, Fox said.

Vaccinations through the hospital system were administered at Excela Square at Latrobe before Thursday’s launch. Anyone who has gotten an emailed confirmation of their second appointment at Excela Square at Latrobe should report to that location. That will apply to anyone who got their first dose at Excela Square at Latrobe before March 8, spokeswoman Robin Jennings said.

The clinic at 8885 Norwin Ave. in North Huntingdon will be open for appointments only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Fox said the number of vaccinations given there could increase, and possibly another location opened, if there is enough supply. For the past two weeks, Excela Health has gotten the amount of doses it has requested from the state, she said.

In Westmoreland County, nearly 40,000 people are fully covered by the vaccine and another 42,500 have gotten the first of two shots, according to state health data. Even though the rate of immunization is increasing in the community, Fox said community members should stay vigilant.

“Wear your mask, because you don’t know who’s been vaccinated and who hasn’t,” she said.

Appointments can be made at excelahealth.org or 724-689-1690 when slots are available.