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COVID-19 vaccines make it to Warren, in process of matching recipients

There are some doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Warren and the process of contacting people to match those doses up with arms is under way.

Gaughn’s Drug Store received a “small number” of Moderna vaccine doses on Thursday and, this week, will start working through the list of those who pre-registered for it.

“Gaughn’s Drug Store was fortunate enough to obtain a small number of COVID-19 vaccine doses from the state last Thursday,” Owner and Pharmacist Scott Newton said. “We’re happy to announce we began with a small in store clinic on Friday to test our process. And this week, we will begin to accommodate more people who have requested the vaccine using our online pre-registration form or as part of our partnership with the Area Agency on Aging.”

It’s not a free-for-all. Gaughn’s is reaching out to those who pre-registered, starting with those in the current phase who signed up first.

“We have begun to reach out to those people who fall into phase 1A from our request list, working in a first-come-first-served fashion from the top down,” Newton said. “We have scheduled two off-site clinics, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday of this week. Please understand these clinics are pre-scheduled appointments and we cannot except walk-ins.”

“It is our hope to be able to offer several weekly clinics going forward,” he said. “However, the amount of clinics we do will be based on the amount of vaccines we receive which unfortunately is out of our control.”

“Please know the demand far exceeds the supply,” he said. “We are and have been placing an order on a weekly basis but the allocation of vaccines is unknown to us and is determined by the state week by week,” he said. “We are ordering a much higher volume than we’re actually receiving.”

Those who are vaccinated will be signed up for a second dose.

“When you receive your first dose, your second dose will be automatically ordered and scheduled,” Newton said.

“While we realize that many people are anxious to be vaccinated, we do ask for patience from the community as we roll out our process and manage the limited supply of vaccine that we have been allocated,” Newton said. “We want to ensure that we are managing the process in the most effective and efficient way for all involved.”

“You can visit Gaughn’s Facebook page for a pre-registration form,” he said. “Or, if you don’t have computer access and are over the age of 60, please call Warren County’s Area Agency on Aging at (814) 723-3763 as they are assisting us with this process.”

There is no requirement that someone be a Gaughn’s customer to sign up to receive a vaccine there.

“As much as we welcome the opportunity to take care of new patients, you are not required to get your medications at our store to receive a vaccine,” Newton said. “We are going strictly off the phase roll-out and our pre-registration list.”

The pharmacy has answered some frequently asked questions on its Facebook page.

“We at Gaughn’s have put this list of commonly asked questions together to help the public understand our process and to also help cut down on the overwhelming volume of questions we are receiving on a daily basis,” Newton said. Because of high phone call volumes, those with other questions are encouraged to send email to gaughnsvaccines@gmail.com.

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