Thousands receive covid-19 vaccine at Monroeville Convention Center

Jeannie Hall-Harris did a lot of praying going into Tuesday’s mass-vaccination event in Monroeville.

“I was hesitant at first,” she said, moments after receiving her first dose of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine. She was one of 5,100 people who received the shot at the Monroeville Convention Center, which partnered with Allegheny Health Network and the Monroeville Area Chamber of Commerce for the event that was scheduled for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Hall-Harris of Penn Hills is 65, which puts her in Phase 1A, the state’s first wave of people who qualify for the vaccine. She said she also has high blood pressure.

“But I prayed — and now I’m just trusting God. I’d rather be protected than not protected,” Hall-Harris said. She was sitting in a folding chair in an area designated for people who just received the shot to wait for 15 minutes before leaving.

She said that the process moved smoothly for her, and she was happy she didn’t have to drive far for the vaccine. She said the shot was comparable to receiving the flu or shingles shot. She is now praying that everything goes OK with the vaccine now flowing through her.

She and the others who were vaccinated during the event will return to the convention center March 30 to get the second dose.

Dr. Mark Rubino, president of Forbes Hospital, said the event was motivational. He walked through the area, greeted patients and answered their questions. He said some of the patients recognized him as the doctor who delivered their babies. Rubino also works as an OB-GYN.

“Just seeing these caregivers who helped people with covid last year now giving them the shot — it’s just impressive and so motivational,” he said, adding that the event involved around 200 AHN staffers, along with some volunteers.

The staffers helping out wore blue shirts emblazoned with “Team Vaccine.” Some held green-lighted wands that they waved in order to get the attention of patients wondering where to walk next. There were three main areas: the registration wall, the vaccination stations and the waiting area. There were about 65 vaccination stations and hundreds of chairs spaced apart in the convention center’s North Hall, which has 45,000 square feet of space, according to its website.

I’m at the Monroeville Convention Center, where @AHNtoday has teamed up with the Monroeville Chamber of Commerce to vaccinate 5,100 people. pic.twitter.com/o0cZMusaYF

— Dillon Carr (@dillonswriting) March 9, 2021

One of AHN’s goals for the event was to make the vaccine available to underserved communities, including pregnant women, Rubino said. He said Phase 1A includes pregnant women.

“But if they decided to get it, they are put into the mix just like everyone else. So we wanted to make sure to invite them and prioritize them,” he said.

David Holmberg, president and CEO of Highmark Health — AHN’s parent company — said the company is using data available at its hospitals and the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index to find candidates for the vaccines. He said once identified, the network reaches out to them to invite them to mass-vaccination events or clinics nearby offering the shots.

“We’re using all our tools to reach people,” he said. “So I want people to leave here telling all their friends and family that, one, the shot didn’t hurt, it was easy, and then I want them to tell others to go get the vaccine.”

AHN and Highmark have hosted eight mass-vaccination events in the past month, helping them administer more than 140,000 doses. Holmberg said he expects mass-vaccination events to continue as more shots become available to additional people.

“These (mass-vaccination events) are going to continue to be important. … We need to live up to our responsibility of taking care of our patients,” he said.