Westmoreland commissioners plan for vaccine registry
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The Westmoreland County commissioners, bowing to public pressure and a growing frustration among residents, said Thursday they will create a county registry to assist residents to receive coronavirus vaccines.
“We are doing something at this point to assist and make sure that the residents of Westmoreland County who want a vaccine, when they are available to the general public, we will be there to provide it for them,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes.
That work will include creation of a database of the names and contact information of residents who want to receive the vaccine, which will be forwarded to providers once doses become available to the public.
The commissioners said discussions with Excela Health are scheduled to begin next week with the hopes that it will take the lead in working to formulate the proposed registry.
“If Excela declines, by all means I have every intention of stepping up to do a waiting list and registry like Fayette County does,” said Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli. “The problem is Westmoreland County is not getting the vaccine, we need to work with one of the health care providers.”
Excela, in a statement issued Thursday afternoon, said discussions with the county are still in the preliminary stage and that it would be speculative to comment on their outcome.
“It is important to underscore that at this time Excela Health does not have, nor is it in the process of developing, a registry for covid vaccinations,” said Dr. Carol Fox, Excela’s chief medical officer. “That said, we intend to work in conjunction with Westmoreland County Emergency Management and our civic and governmental leaders to build a sustainable plan moving forward for vaccine distribution. One that takes into account the variability in vaccine supply, travel and other logistical concerns for those awaiting vaccination and, of course, the scheduling process, itself.”
As nearby county governments work to facilitate vaccinations of residents, Westmoreland County’s commissioners have until now taken a hands-off approach and deferred to local health systems and pharmacies that receive doses from the state and federal governments.
The commissioners received more than a dozen comments from citizens prior to Thursday’s public meeting calling for them to get more involved in the vaccination process.
“We’ve had a lack of leadership on testing, contact tracing and now the roll out of the vaccine. There’s been lots of finger pointing and blame, but little action to help facilitate a positive outcome for your constituents,” wrote Mary Kay Nafaa of North Huntingdon. “It’s like a house is burning down and the firefighters are arguing about whose jurisdiction the fire is in while the family screams as they burn inside.”
The Fayette County commissioners last week announced the creation of a county registry for residents to sign up for vaccinations. Allegheny County, through its health department, has administered doses to residents and officials in Beaver County recently unveiled sites for mass vaccinations.
“Our county is passing the buck,” said Sarah Skidmore of Greensburg. “Westmoreland County needs a centralized registration system that includes a way to reach people without internet access, more public education about the vaccine and transportation options for people who need a ride.”
Westmoreland officials, following an earlier round of criticism over the county’s vaccine efforts, created a site on the county’s web page that provides links to local pharmacies and medical providers that has received doses from the state.
County won’t distribute vaccine
Cerilli cautioned that the plan formulated by the county will not include the actual distribution of vaccines but just a means by which residents can potentially access appointments to receive doses from private suppliers.
Kertes said that because the county does not directly receive vaccine doses from the state it must rely on local providers but after weeks of growing frustration among the public officials believe a more proactive government response is needed.
Specifics won’t be announced until a plan is finalized, commissioners said.
“We don’t want to put misinformation out there and just say we hope we can do this and then have egg on our face,” Kertes said. “We want to make sure we have everything buttoned down and ready to go and we have what we need. Because the worse thing we can do is promise and under-deliver for our residents.”