Montgomery County Health Department issued the following announcement on Feb. 10.
During their virtual COVID-19 briefing today, the Montgomery County Commissioners announced the launch of a COVID-19 hotline for general questions about COVID-19 and the vaccine, and provided updates on vaccine supply and distribution.
"The Montgomery County Office of Public Health received only 1,000 first doses last week. As a consequence, we used all of our first doses by the end of the day yesterday. Our first dose vaccine clinic at Norristown Area High School is closed for the rest of the week and will reopen on Monday," said Dr. Valerie A. Arkoosh, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. "We expect to receive 3,900 first doses sometime tomorrow. The good news is that we did receive 5,800 second doses this week and continue to have the appropriate number of second doses to administer to those who got their first dose from us at the Montgomery County Community College clinic."
COVID-19 Vaccine Updates: Due to the limited supply of vaccine at this time, only people who qualify for Phase 1A will be given appointments. This includes people ages 65 and older and people ages 18-64 with specific underlying medical conditions known to be associated with severe cases of COVID-19. Appointment slots are limited and are available by reservation only. Walk-up registration is not accepted. To learn more about the 1A criteria or request an appointment, visit www.montcopa.org/covid-19vaccine.
To date, there are over 153,000 people pre-registered to receive vaccines. At this time and depending on when you registered, it may take between six to 12 weeks before registrants hear back from the County about scheduling an appointment as the County is booking appointments to match its supply of the vaccine.
Residents can check their status at the County's vaccine status page. This page lists the number of requests by date of registration. Montgomery County is currently booking appointments for those who pre-registered on January 12, 2021.
New Montgomery County COVID-19 Hotline: Today, the County announced a new COVID-19 hotline for general questions about COVID-19 and the vaccine. The number to call is (833) 875-3967. The Montgomery County COVID-19 hotline is operational six days a week, Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with live operators that can answer general COVID-19 questions. In addition, the hotline has Spanish speaking agents and language line support for over 100+ different languages.
COVID-19 Response Fund: In March 2020, the County established the COVID-19 Response Fund to help the local safety net and first responder organizations provide greater assistance to residents suffering with the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These nonprofit organizations provide food, shelter, senior and veteran services and much more. Many suffer financial strain while trying to meet the overwhelming demand for food and services, which is why they need our help. To date, the Fund has raised $917,517 and has granted $857,839 to over 250 safety net and first responder organizations who continue to help.
"Many of our safety net organizations that provide food, shelter, ambulance services, senior care, and more have continued to suffer a significant strain on their financial resources due to the huge demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr., Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. "In March 2020, the County established the MontocoPA COVID-19 Response Fund to help ease the strain on these nonprofits so that they can continue to provide critical services to our residents in need. The Fund has raised more than $900K but has already been depleted through grants to nonprofits. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the MontcoPA COVID-19 Response Fund."
Vaccine Town Hall – COVID-19 and the Latino Community: On Tuesday, February 16 at 7 p.m. Montgomery County is hosting a town hall for the Latino Community on the COVID-19 vaccine. The event is being held in partnership with ACLAMO, Montgomery County Immunization Coalition, Telemundo62, and the Pottstown Area Foundation. The event is free and open to anyone who would like to attend. The program will be delivered in English and in Spanish. To register, visit montcopa.org/townhall.
County-run Vaccination Clinics: County vaccine clinics run Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Appointments are required to receive the vaccine. Registrants will be assigned a location. There is no option to choose where you receive the vaccine. No walk-up registration is accepted. Currently, Montgomery County has two vaccination clinics:
- Montgomery County Community College – Blue Bell, PA
- Norristown Area High School – Norristown, PA
Vaccine Pre-registration with Other Providers: There are a number of pharmacies and doctor's offices in the County and region that are receiving the vaccine. Residents can look these up on the PA DOH vaccine provider map as they change weekly. Each site has its own registration process that is separate from the County. The Montgomery County OPH does not distribute vaccines to these locations and does not have any control over how the vaccine is distributed. The PA DOH distributes the vaccine directly to them. Wherever a resident goes to receive their first dose of vaccine is where they need to go to get their second dose.
Residents are encouraged to check the county’s frequently asked questions webpage on the COVID-19 vaccine, which is being updated weekly.
COVID-19 Testing Sites Schedule: Montgomery County COVID-19 testing sites are open various hours each weekday at six locations across the County weather permitting. Testing is available to anyone who lives, works or goes to school in Montgomery County. Appointments can be made on weekdays starting at 7 a.m. online or starting at 8:30 a.m. by calling (610) 970-2937.
This Saturday, February 13, the Willow Grove testing site will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For Saturday testing, appointments can be reserved online only starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 12.
COVID-19 Cases & Data: A full breakdown of all Montgomery County COVID-19 cases can be found on the COVID-19 Data Hub. The Hub hosts the County’s COVID-19 maps, data, and charts that show the number of daily cases and deaths related to COVID-19, including hospitalizations and ventilator use. There is also demographic information on cases by age, gender and race. For all other COVID-19 resources in Montgomery County, please visit https://www.montcopa.org/COVID-19.
COVID-19 Virtual Media Briefings: The next press briefing on COVID-19 cases and mitigation efforts will be held Wednesday, February 17, at 1:30 p.m. A link for media to register will be announced through a media advisory. It will be streamed live to the public on Montgomery County’s Facebook page and a recording will be uploaded on the County’s Public Safety YouTube channel.
Original source can be found here.
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