McKean County is hosting a mass vaccination clinic Friday, after the county saw a brief period of providers getting no first dose vaccines from the state.
Bradford Regional Medical Center is hosting the clinic at the Old Central Christian High School building and will use an emergency allotment of 1,170 doses for those who register ahead of time.
This came after local officials expressed concern in late March, when all three local providers were taken off the distribution list by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The mayor of nearby Kane, Brandy Schimp, said it was a setback for residents in the rural town and its local hospital, UPMC Kane.
“They had received word that they should go ahead and pre-plan several weeks out worth of clinics, only to be told days later that they’re not going to be on the provider list for several weeks to come,” Schimp said.
The Department of Health said a “clerical error” caused the problem, but refused to explain in detail. It had said it wanted to focus on larger providers who can administer more doses quickly.
The DOH said moving forward, it will deliver doses to UPMC Kane and the Bradford Regional Medical Center on an alternating weekly basis.
