Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The Bucks County Health Department’s COVID-19 vaccination clinics are closing at the end of the month.
The clinics have run since early 2021 and vaccinated thousands of residents at locations in the lower, central, and upper parts of Bucks County.
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James O’Malley, a county spokesperson, said the closure is due to waning demand, numerous other options to get vaccines, and the county’s contract with clinic operator Little Big Health Solutions expiring.
The Lower Bucks County vaccination clinic inside the Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem Township ended operations last week. The one at Bucks County Community College’s Upper Bucks Campus outside of Perkasie is closing Tuesday and one at the Warwick Square shopping center in Warwick Township will end operations Friday, with the schedule posted on the county website.
The remaining clinics have supplies of the original series of vaccines and boosters set to tackle newer variants.
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“Shuttering of the clinics comes at a time of widespread availability of COVID vaccines at pharmacies and doctors’ offices, high vaccination rates, and when most people have built some immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19. Supplies of the new bivalent booster are limited, but are expected to increase in the coming days and weeks,” a statement from the county read.
In the early months of the vaccines being available, there was intense demand for shots through the county clinics.
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The clinics have delivered more than 207,000 doses of the three COVID-19 vaccines, according to county numbers.
A total of 84.6 percent of Bucks Countians have received at least one dose and 35.1 percent have received a booster shot, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
“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,” Bucks County Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker said 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.”
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“Managing deployment of a scarce vaccine during a global pandemic is never a job we want to have to do, 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,” Damsker said.
The county opened the clinics with county workers and contractor AMI Health in the first year and moved to Little Big Health Solutions in 2022.
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For more information on getting vaccinated and to find a provider, click here.
The Bucks County Commissioners last week approved accepting $8.7 million from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) to cover 2021 costs from running the vaccination efforts.
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Since the pandemic began, there have been 142,938 reported COVID-19 cases and 2,019 deaths Bucks County.
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