Public Service Profile: Vaccines

For the first time, there is more COVID-19 vaccine available than patients in the queue for receiving the vaccine in Greene County. Since the first week of January, a coalition of medical authorities, county officials and other agencies have been meeting weekly in order to plan, organize and effectively administer the COVID-19 vaccine. During the meeting Monday, the balance between those requesting COVID-19 vaccinations and the amount of vaccine available was reversed from previous meetings.

Planning, coordination and communication through the coalition meetings previously validated a significant capacity in Greene County to administer COVID-19 vaccines. The issue was the small amount of vaccine available through the state and federal distribution programs. Now, the vaccine is more readily available and Governor Wolf and Acting Secretary Beam announced, “that effective, Tuesday, April 13, all Pennsylvania adults will be eligible to schedule an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine.”

The announcement included that the Department of Health has seen ongoing appointment availability in many parts of the state even as Phase 1A and 1B continue and 1C begins today. This updated timeline will signal the start of Phase 2, and allow all interested adults to fill appointments at providers immediately as of April 13. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is not yet approved for children under the age of 16 and the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccines are not yet approved for children under the age of 18.

Individuals that do not currently have an appointment can contact the below vaccine providers for immediate scheduling.

Washington Health System: Residents of Washington or Greene counties, or established patients of a WHS outpatient practice, can register for a vaccination at https://whs.org/vaccine-form

Cornerstone Care: Register at https://cornerstonecare.com/covid-19_vaccine/

Centerville Clinics: Patients can register at https://centervilleclinics.com/covid-19-vaccine/

CVS Pharmacy: Visit https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine/

Giant Eagle Pharmacy: Visit https://www.gianteagle.com/covidvaccine/.

McCracken Pharmacy: Visit https://mccrackenpharmacy.com/

Rite Aid Pharmacy: Visit https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/apt-scheduler/

WVU Medical: Visit https://wvumedicine.org/info/vaccine/

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Area Agency on Aging, Inc. continues to offer free rides to all seniors, 60 years of age and older, needing transportation to and from their scheduled COVID-19 vaccination appointment. For those who are interested in scheduling transportation to and from a vaccination site, call Greene County Transportation at (724) 627-6778 and have your COVID-19 vaccination appointment information available to help coordinate your ride. The Area Agency on Aging will also make vaccine appointments for individuals that do not have access to the internet.

Additional information can be obtained on the Greene County Commissioner’s Facebook page, by calling (724) 852-5210 or individual healthcare providers. Don’t wait to make an appointment, be safe and vaccinate!

About Danielle Nyland

Current Position: Editor and Social Media Manager of GreeneScene Community Magazine. Danielle Nyland is a local photographer, artist, and writer. She is a Greene County native and currently lives in Nemacolin with her husband, Daytona, two sons, Remington and Kylo, and an English bull terrier, Sparky. Danielle has a background in graphic design, web publishing, social media, management, and photography. She graduated American Public University with an associate degree in web publishing and Bellevue University with a bachelor degree in graphic design. She has also attended the New York Institute of Photography. Before joining the team, she worked in retail and as an instructor at Laurel Business Institute. Outside of her work with the GreeneScene, she enjoys painting and drawing, photography, and loves reading books and watching movies – especially the scary ones! Danielle has been photographing and writing about local history and events since 2010 as part of the SWPA Rural Exploration team. She’s active in local community events and committees. She’s a board member with Flenniken Public Library and is on the committees for the Sheep & Fiber Festival, 50’s Fest & Car Cruise, and Light Up Night.