Bucks County is shutting down its COVID vaccine clinics, after administering more than 207,000 doses over the past two years.
The clinic at the Warwick Square shopping center in Warwick will close Friday, the day before the county’s contract expires with vaccine vendor Little Big Health Solutions Inc. The Neshaminy Mall clinic closed last week.
Bucks County opened its public vaccine clinics in February 2021, at a time when doses were hard to find and those who wanted one faced long waits to make an appointment.
Today, the shots are widely available, for free, at doctor’s offices and retail pharmacies. Demand also has fallen sharply.
“When our clinics first opened in 2021, COVID vaccines were rare and difficult to find, and so it fell to us to make sure we got the shots to as many people as we could,” said county Health Director Dr. David Damsker, in a statement. “Today, with the vaccines and boosters available in nearly every drug store and supermarket, it’s time for the county to step back and refocus the efforts of its staff and resources where we can have greater impact.”
The final hours of the Warwick Square clinic are noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
Shots will also be given from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday at the Upper Bucks campus of Bucks County Community College in Perkasie.
First series vaccines as well as the new bivalent booster are available at both locations.
“Managing deployment of a scarce vaccine during a global pandemic is never a job we want to have to do,” Damsker said, “but I’m proud to say our Health Department, Emergency Services and General Services staff, and also our friends at Little Big Health Solutions, rose to the challenge time and time again despite extremely difficult circumstances.”
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A look at the latest COVID numbers
According to a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, Pennsylvania reported 18,304 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, from 18,183 the week before of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Bucks County reported 675 cases and eight deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 551 cases and four deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 142,938 cases and 2,019 deaths.
Montgomery County reported 898 cases and three deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 773 cases and five deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 182,473 cases and 2,441 deaths.
Within Pennsylvania, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Crawford County with 261 cases per 100,000 per week; Cambria County with 257; and Bradford County with 255. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Philadelphia County, with 2,591 cases; Allegheny County, with 1,518 cases; and Montgomery County, with 898. Weekly case counts rose in 20 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week’s pace were in Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery counties.
Montgomery County’s COVID vaccine clinics remain open.
