Vaccine center cuts weekly dose order by 83%

Faced with a steep decline in demand for Covid-19 vaccination, Lancaster County's community vaccination center at Park City mall has dramatically pared down the doses it is requesting from the state.

For this week, it is requesting about 3,500 doses from the Department of Health, spokesman Brett Marcy said Monday — equal to about 17% of the 21,060 doses received last week.

Through Sunday, the center had administered about 6,000 of last week's allotment, Marcy said, or less than 30%.

More than 13,000 first-dose appointments remain available over the next seven days, Marcy said: "Walk in, call us at (717) 588-1020, or schedule online at www.vaccinatelancaster.org."

The center took steps to encourage vaccination last week, expanding the availability of walk-in appointments and extending its evening hours by 30 minutes to 6:30 p.m.

Marcy noted that second-dose vaccinations are continuing at a high clip, with more than 21,000 planned through this coming Sunday.

This past Sunday, the center held a "Super Sunday" promotion, featuring gift cards and random raffle prizes, with staff cheering when prizes were announced. The event was a success, attracting more than 100 walk-in patients, Marcy said.

The center's backlog of doses are being stored in an ultra-low temperature freezer, so there is no danger of wastage.

The center is run by the Vaccinate Lancaster Coalition, with Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health as lead medical partner. The coalition is in "active discussions" regarding next steps, "in recognition of lower than anticipated first-dose patient volumes," Marcy said.

Meanwhile, it is continuing to pursue initiatives to vaccinate underserved and hard-to-reach populations in partnership with other organizations, he said.