With thousands registered, Fayette officials ask for patience during vaccine rollout
The Fayette County commissioners urged continued patience Thursday, as the county’s COVID-19 vaccine task force establishes a phone bank to help those without internet access get appointments.
Currently, county residents can register for the vaccine at fayettecountypa.org. Those who can’t or don’t want to sign up online have to call 724-466-4142 and leave a message. A phone bank would expedite the process, officials said.
Commissioner Scott Dunn said call backs will come from a number of places, including the courthouse or Fayette Chamber of Commerce, as volunteers work to set up appointments.
A volunteer will call a registrant up to four times to set up an appointment.
“So don’t worry about them not calling you back,” Commissioner Vincent Vicites said. “They will.”
Officials said 12,000 people scheduled Feb. 8, the day the registration process opened. As of Thursday, nearly 20,000 in the 1A group were registered.
Commissioners said 5,000 appointments have been scheduled so far, including 880 county veterans who received vaccine in the first week.
They recognize, however, that waiting to get scheduled for an appointment is frustrating.
“It’s going to be a process; it’s not going to happen quickly,” Dunn said.
State Sen. Pat Stefano, a member of the task force, said Fayette County is one of the premiere counties in the vaccine rollout program because it implemented a centralized registration list. Residents in other counties are forced to call multiple locations to try to schedule a shot, he said.
“This is not a demand problem, it’s a supply problem,” Stefano said Thursday. “We’ll get there.”
Commissioner Dave Lohr said many people have legitimate concerns with the vaccine distribution, but he said the county is working with the state to try to get as many vaccines to the county as possible.
“It’s going to take time,” Lohr said, praising the county’s task force. “There’s a lot of good work being done by a lot of good people.”
And as many clamor to get the vaccine, Dunn reminded residents to be cautious about giving certain personal information.
“Just as a reminder, this is free,” he said. “If someone calls you, they should never ask for insurance (information), financial information or credit card information. If they do, it’s a scam, that’s fraud, just hang up on them.”
He urged members of churches, senior centers and other community organizations to reach out to their older members, and offer assistance in getting on the vaccine registry.
Dunn said this weekend, additional clinics will be held Saturday through WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital at the Uniontown Mall on where they’ll distribute 2,000 vaccines, and through Highlands Hospital at the Connellsville Area Senior High School where 1,000 doses will be given out.
Appointments are the only way to get the vaccine, as walk-ins are not accepted.