NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — This week's snow storm has dealt a blow to COVID-19 services in many of Philadelphia's suburban counties, which are already managing through a limited allotment of vaccine — and information — from the state.
The weather forced Montgomery County to reschedule two days of vaccinations.
County Commissioner Dr. Val Arkoosh says anyone affected should have already received an email about their new appointments. People scheduled for Monday have been rescheduled for Friday, and those with Tuesday appointments are now rescheduled for Thursday.
"It does mean we are effectively two days behind," she said. "Those are 2,000 people that would have been vaccinated by the end of the day today."
However, they didn't have to clear the schedule on Thursday or Friday.
"I guess, on the bright side, we had not yet scheduled any vaccination clinics for Thursday or Friday of this week because we were still not certain how much vaccine we were going to receive this week," she said.
Arkoosh said she understands people waiting for the vaccine are frustrated as they wait for information about scheduling. And she says she is just as frustrated by the lack of information coming from the state and federal vaccine suppliers.
The county is moving the administration of first shots from Montgomery County Community College to Norristown High School. Anyone waiting for their second shot will still go to the community college.
Arkoosh says the move was planned, and she says Norristown High School will be more convenient, especially for seniors, because people can be dropped off much closer with less of a walk.
In Delaware County, COVID-19 testing and vaccinations scheduled for Tuesday continued as planned.
However, in Chester County on Tuesday, all vaccination appointments and testing scheduled at the Government Services Center, and all vaccination appointments at the Kennett Square location, were canceled because of the weather.
Individuals who were scheduled for vaccination at the two locations are being notified of their rescheduled appointment date and time. Anyone scheduled for testing at the Government Services Center must make a new appointment.
All six mega vaccination sites in New Jersey were closed Monday and Tuesday. Health officials say they may be closed on Wednesday as well, depending on how much snow falls and how quickly road crews can clean up.
Anyone whose appointment has been cancelled will get a notification about rescheduling.
