The Allegheny County Health Department will open three new COVID-19 vaccination clinics -- in Ross Township, Oakland and the Hill District -- in the weeks ahead, before phasing out one of its current sites in Monroeville.
As with the county’s existing clinics, the new sites will offer vaccines by appointment only. There will be no walk-up registrations available. Residents unable to register for appointments online can call 2-1-1 for assistance scheduling.
County-run clinics have offered both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. According to the county, notifications about appointment openings will indicate which vaccine is being offered.
Information about eligibility and how to sign up for appointments will be posted on the county’s website. Residents can also sign up to be alerted of such announcements via phone, text or e-mail.
Ross Township Community Center
The Ross Township Community Center will become a county-run clinic beginning March 24. The clinics will be run by Health Department staff and members of the Medical Reserve Corps.
As the Ross site ramps up, the county’s Monroeville clinic will be used to distribute second doses only for those who received their first doses there; once that effort is complete, that clinic location will close. The county said the change will allow the department to staff additional locations throughout the county, including the Ross site.
Peterson Events Center, Oakland
In Oakland, a partnership between the county and the University of Pittsburgh will establish the Peterson Events Center as a temporary vaccine clinic. That site will open Wednesday. The county expects to offer 1,000 first doses a day at this site. A statement by the county did not indicate how long first doses would be offered at the Pete, but said second doses will be provided at the same location within the 28 to 42 day window recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Free parking will be available at the garage at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum off of Bigelow Boulevard, with free shuttles running between the garage and the Peterson Event Center during the hours of operation. A parking lot near the clinic will also be available for individuals who drop off others for vaccinations.
Students and faculty from Pitt’s Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing, Medicine, Dental Medicine, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and Graduate School of Public Health will be providing the vaccines.
Central Baptist Church, Hill District
Another clinic will open March 22 at the Central Baptist Church in the city’s Hill District. The county said Duquesne University’s Center for Integrative Health will help offer limited vaccinations at the church, targeting communities that have not yet been reached by other vaccination clinics.
Latest numbers:
Allegheny County:
- 306 new cases
- No new deaths
Pennsylvania:
- 3,119 new cases
- 1,450 hospitalizations
- 286 patients in the ICU
- More than 1.3 million people fully vaccinated
Pennsylvania state Capitol building in Harrisburg to re-open to the public on Monday
The Capitol has been closed to the public since December of last year due to an increase in coronavirus cases statewide. Security also increased following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January. According to a release from state, visitors are required to wear a mask and physically distance when visiting the building. Demonstrations and other events are permitted on the front steps of the building.
Rite Aid to vaccinate people through DHS long-term support programs
Rite Aid will administer the COVID-19 vaccine to some 9,000 Pennsylvanians who are either elderly or have physical disabilities. The state’s Department of Human Services says vaccine clinics will occur this month and next, and will be targeted towards individuals who are enrolled in the department’s long-term services and supports programs.
Sarah Boden reports the initiative is aimed at easing access for this population, who may encounter extra barriers to getting vaccinated.
