Montgomery County officials have reported “strong” interest in adolescent vaccines.Local news

Norristown — Montgomery County officials reported a “strong” interest in the COVID-19 vaccine among adolescents the day after health officials provided the vaccine to people between the ages of 12 and 15.

“The demand has been pretty strong so far,” County Commissioner Dr. Valerie Arkuche said in a press conference Wednesday, adding that about 300 people between the ages of 12 and 15 were appointed on Tuesday. .. “Yesterday was pretty tough.”

Citing recent US census data, Arkoosh said the county is home to 48,534 residents between the ages of 12 and 15.

School officials are also enthusiastic about immunizing young people, according to Arkoosh. Since the beginning of last year’s pandemic, county health officials have met weekly with the county’s public school district supervisors and about every two weeks with representatives of the county’s private schools.

“They were all enthusiastic and very much hoped that students aged 12 to 15 could start vaccination this week, and we are still discussing opening clinics in various schools. So it hasn’t been organized yet, “says Arkoosh, while there are multiple county-operated vaccination clinics available for families who want to vaccinate adolescents.

“I don’t know if we’ll have a school-based clinic, but in the meantime, it’s very easy to vaccinate adolescents,” Kenneth E. Arkuche, who attended the press conference of Commissioner Lawrence Jr., said. ..

In light of Monday’s decision by U.S. regulators to extend Pfizer’s vaccine use from 12 to 15 years old, the County Public Health Department announced on Tuesday that Pfizer’s vaccine was made available to people over 12 years of age. Announced. Vaccine clinic run by the county.

“This is great news. We continue to vaccinate more members of the community. Access to the COVID-19 vaccine has never been easier. If you want to be vaccinated We encourage you to register or walk up to one of the clinics, “says Arkoosh. “The more people choose to get vaccinated, the safer our community will be and the faster we can return to normal.”

Authorities added that persons under the age of 18 attending the county’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

The county will continue to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to people over the age of 18. Officials said the J & J vaccine is not licensed for people under the age of 18. Officials added that anyone under the age of 18 who enrolls in or stops at clinics that offer only J & J vaccines will be rejected.

Reservations are recommended, but not required. Walk-ups are accepted at any clinic.

“Walk-ups to our clinic are available, but we highly recommend booking on our website to speed up the onsite check-in process,” explained Arkoosh. ..

The County Public Health Department operates seven vaccination clinics at different times in multiple locations, including malls and churches.A specific weekly vaccine clinic schedule, including date and time, can be found at www.montcopa.org/COVID-19Vaccine

Authorities also said the county is expanding access to a second Pfizer vaccine for those in need.

“This includes college students who may return home from school before the second dose is available. Our vaccine registration gives people the option to register for the second shot only.” Arkoosh said.

Residents can visit to make a vaccine reservation https://vaccine.montcopa.org Select “Start Registration”.

Residents can email common COVID-19 questions[email protected]Alternatively, call the Montgomery County COVID-19 Hotline (833) 875-3967. The hotline is open 7 days a week from 8 am to 8 pm, Monday to Saturday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported on Wednesday that 234,075 county residents had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. According to state data, residents of another 221,883 county have been partially vaccinated.

State data show that 54.87% of the county’s total population is partially or completely vaccinated.

“So we’re making great strides and I just want to encourage people to get vaccinated. There are a lot of vaccines,” said Arkoosh.

A closer look at the numbers reveals that 97.4% of the county’s population over the age of 65 has been vaccinated for the first or second time.

The data further show that 67.7% of the county’s population over the age of 16 is partially or completely vaccinated.

Health experts believe that herd immunity will not be reached until about 75% of the total population is vaccinated.

Meanwhile, county officials reported 89 new positive cases of COVID-19 daily on Wednesday, bringing the total number of positive cases in the county to 58,238 since March 7, 2020, when the first two cases of the virus were confirmed in the county. became.

To date, at least 427 of the positives in the county carry one of the coronavirus variants, including 406 who carry the more contagious B117 mutant first identified in the United Kingdom. It has been identified. Six cases of the B1427 variant and 13 cases of the B1429 variant, which were first detected in California, and one case of the B1526 variant, which was first detected in New York, have also been identified in the county. The county identified one case of the P1 variant or the Brazilian variant.

No new additional COVID-19 deaths were reported on Wednesday, bringing the county to 1,314 deaths since the pandemic began a year ago. To date, 666 women and 648 men have died from the virus in the county.

Nine hospitals in the county on Wednesday had 141 COVID-19 patients, down from 202 a week ago. Twenty-three of the current patients needed a ventilator.

According to the latest county data, the 14-day COVID-19 positive rate for the entire county as of May 6 was 5.68%, from the 6.86% positive rate recorded in the previous 14 days until April 29. It is decreasing. ..

Health officials believe that a positive rate of less than 5% indicates that the county is controlling the spread of the virus.