Clinton County residents slow in getting vaccinated

LOCK HAVEN, PA – Tuesday is the first day that all adults in Pennsylvania are eligible for vaccination against COVID-19, but Clinton County residents are behind the rest of the state and officialdom is concerned.

WNEP-TV on Monday did a story on Clinton County and its “lagging behind” in terms of its residents getting vaccinated. The story said in Clinton County less than 23 percent of its population has been vaccinated.

County commissioner Angela Harding told the TV station, “I do believe that there’s access issues, but I do believe we have a large contingency of residents that have basically decided that they are not comfortable getting the vaccine, so I think that might be the case for some of our numbers.”

She told the TV station, “How do we convince 75 percent of the population in Clinton County to get the vaccine is the million-dollar question, and we have a challenge ahead of us with that.”

UPMC Susquehanna has been running a vaccine clinic every Wednesday at the Dunnstown Fire Hall and says there have been many openings there recently for appointments. But according to UPMC’s Susan Duchman, Clinton County is not alone: “I’m going to say that it is just not Clinton County, but in all of our vaccine clinics, we have appointments that are not filled.”

Commissioner Harding took to social media Tuesday, seeking greater participation numbers in the county:

“Please consider a COVID vaccination. Clinton County can and should do better.” She said the county has seen 141 positive cases in the last 12 days, all symptomatic. “Do the research; talk to your doctor, and help us minimize and mitigate the virus.”

The next UPMC vaccine clinic is this Wednesday at the Dunnstown Fire Hall. An appointment can be made by going online through UPMC.