Montgomery County Vaccine Updates: J&J Pause Slows Rollout

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — The Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause last week hit Montgomery County hard, leading to clinic closures and thousands of canceled and rescheduled appointments.

The state has announced that all Johnson & Johnson appointments will be paused until at April 24.

Meanwhile, COVID cases are continuing to rise in the county. The percent positivity rate is now at 8.5 percent.

Here are the latest vaccine updates from around the county.

4,000 Montco appointments canceled

Montgomery County had been heavily reliant upon the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to accelerate its vaccine progress over the last two weeks. Last week, the county received a surprise double shipment of 21,000 J&J doses, allowing them to complete scheduling the 1A priority group and open up registrations to the general public. This week, they had to cancel or reschedule 4,000 appointments. Two clinics were also closed, and other clinic openings were delayed. MORE.

Saturday clinics open

Montgomery County has been able to move forward with two new clinics in Spring House and Pottstown. MORE.

Clinic volunteers and employees harassed as tensions boil over

Montgomery County vaccine clinics have been plagued by hostility toward staff members administering doses and organizing proceedings, officials said Wednesday. Many of the peoeple working at the clinics are volunteers, officials said. Frustrations are mounting after months of delays, insufficient shipments of doses, and the latest J&J pause. MORE.

Vaccinations a "race" as COVID surge continues

The fourth wave of coronavirus continued to make its presence felt in Montgomery County this week, as all key coronavirus metrics tracked by the state Department of Health climbed for the fourth straight week. MORE.

For full information about getting a coronavirus vaccine in Pennsylvania, visit Patch's information hub.