Temple University Health System is now offering COVID-19 vaccines to all eligible individuals at various sites in Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery counties, according to the Temple University Health System website.
Pennsylvania residents 16 years and older can walk up or schedule an appointment for Monday through Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at TUHS’ main campus, Jeanes Campus and Fort Washington Campus and Fox Chase Cancer Center Main Campus, said Tony Reed, executive vice president and chief medical officer for Temple University Health System.
TUHS is also offering vaccines at Fox Chase’s East Norriton Campus and Buckingham Campus by appointment only, according to the TUHS Instagram page.
Philadelphia expanded vaccine eligibility to all residents 16 and older on April 16, days after Pennsylvania expanded its vaccine eligibility to include the same demographic, The Temple News reported.
Pennsylvanians who do not live or work in Philadelphia are not eligible to be vaccinated at TUHS sites in the city, like TUHS’s main campus, Jeanes Campus or Fox Chase’s main campus, and should instead go to TUHS sites in the suburbs, Reed said. Philadelphia receives vaccine allocations from the federal government and has a separate vaccine rollout from Pennsylvania, according to the Philadelphia Department of Health.
TUHS began administering primarily the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at both its city and suburban sites last week and will continue for the foreseeable future, Reed added.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine uses mRNA technology and requires two doses, 21 days apart. People who receive the Pfizer vaccine are not fully vaccinated until two weeks after receiving their second dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People can schedule a vaccine appointment at any of TUHS’ sites by calling 215-707-6999 or using the vaccine registration form, Reed said.
TUHS receives between 150 and 400 vaccine doses a week from the state to use at vaccine sites outside of Philadelphia, Reed said.
Because Philadelphia receives vaccines separately from the rest of Pennsylvania, TUHS is not able to administer vaccines received from the state government at Philadelphia vaccine sites and vice versa, he added.
TUHS will be receiving as many vaccines as they need from the Philadelphia government, he said.
“They have basically taken off the limits and said, just order it, and we’ll send it to you,” Reed said.
As of May 3, more than 778,000 Philadelphians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and more than 524,000 are fully vaccinated, The Temple News reported.
TUHS began vaccinating its staff, students and faculty in December 2020, while Temple’s College of Public Health began vaccinating its students in January and some faculty members in February, The Temple News reported.
Temple also opened a six-week vaccine clinic for eligible students, faculty, staff and city residents by appointment only at White Hall on March 31, The Temple News reported.
TUHS chose to offer vaccines at its main campus, Jeanes Campus and Fox Chase’s main campus because the sites are large and able to accommodate social distancing, Reed said. TUHS chose its Fort Washington Campus because of its large size and proximity to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, making it easy for many people to access the site, Reed said.
TUHS also chose Fox Chase’s East Norriton Campus and Buckingham Campus as vaccine sites because 75 percent of Fox Chase patients come from outside of Philadelphia, he said.
TUHS could schedule approximately between 1,500 to 1,550 people at these vaccine locations combined. TUHS can slightly increase capacity at sites if there is a high demand for vaccines, Reed said.
“It’s our role in society as a healthcare entity to do everything we can in the number of jurisdictions, we can,” Reed said.
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