Voice of Westmoreland demands better covid vaccine plan in county

Members of the Voice of Westmoreland delivered a petition to county commissioners Thursday demanding a coronavirus vaccine registry and distribution sites in rural areas and for minority communities, among other concerns.

The 375 signatures had been gathered since Saturday, said Bob Mason, a Trafford resident and member of the grassroots community activist group.

“We are hoping that you will seriously consider the points we have in our petition,” he said at the commissioners’ meeting.

Commissioners have been working for weeks to implement a centralized registry for county residents, but those plans have been put on hold as officials seek help from a third party. Excela Health has declined to participate because it does not have the internal resources to manage the database. Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher said other vaccine providers in the county are on board.

“We cannot wait for the state,” she said. “We have to step up and lead.”

Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew are concerned with how private medical information from those joining the registry would be handled. All three agreed a registry is needed but county employees cannot handle managing it.

A third-party company would be the best to safeguard personal information, and the commissioners have been discussing that with outside agencies. Meanwhile, the state’s vaccine rollout has left individuals eligible for it struggling to find appointments, often because of a lack of supply.

State health officials are pushing 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. 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.

Mason and other concerned community members asked the commissioners for help with increasing access for those who live in rural areas and minority communities, as well as people who are homebound and don’t have the internet. He said more education and awareness is needed.

Westmoreland Transit is helping with transportation to appointments, and future moves by the state health department could help with some of those concerns, Chew said. Ceil Kessler of Greensburg said the current system is chaotic and could become worse when the state moves into future phases of the inoculation plan.

“This is not an equitable distribution of the vaccine,” she said. “We need a better system besides ‘here’s some websites and phone numbers; good luck with that.’”

The county and the United Way, among others, have started a partnership to make appointments through Excela Health for those who don’t have access to technology. Excela Health opened a clinic in North Huntingdon Thursday where staff members will be able to give about 2,000 inoculations daily by appointment only. Mainline Pharmacy has opened up thousands of appointments around the area.

Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.