ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Robert Roberts from Stroudsburg is back to where his COVID-19 vaccination adventure first started at Dorney Park in South Whitehall Township. He got his second dose of the Moderna vaccine and is now fully vaccinated.
"I was excited to get the second one and get it over with and don't have to worry about it anymore. Well, a little tired, but I generally am," said Roberts.
Lehigh Valley Health Network put on the mass vaccine drive-thru clinic.
The same 1,000 people who came on January 27 showed up again for their second dose.
"It's great because we are not allowed to go into Canada. We need to get these shots, and hopefully, they will reopen that border, so we had to get them. It's great, and I'm glad," said Lee Mearhoff, Easton.
Dr. Alex Benjamin is the chief of infection control for the network. He tells Newswatch 16 after the state announced a mistake in the allocation of COVID-19 vaccines, Benjamin wasn't sure the second clinic would happen on time.
"I think there was always a little bit of concern that we might have to cancel an event like this, and I think all of us who are involved in vaccine planning would have been really, really demoralized by an event like that. The fact that we can hand out first doses and not second doses just put everything into limbo about the science of the vaccines, and I think that puts a lot of anxiety into our patients and gives us a lot of anxiety as well," said Dr. Benjamin.
Not only are physicians grateful they were able to get second doses into patients' arms, but they are also excited to learn that another vaccine could be on the way.
"Johnson and Johnson is set to go to the FDA for their approval on Thursday. There is already preliminary information that their review committee, the advisory committee, says they are going to approve. They agree with the science and think it would be appropriate for emergency use authorization," said Dr. Benjamin.
Lehigh Valley Health Network plans to hold more mass vaccination clinics as doses of the COVID-19 vaccine become available.