CLINTON COUNTY, Pa. — Pennsylvania is making all adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine this week. A few counties in Newswatch 16's viewing area have been lagging behind when it comes to participating in getting the vaccine. Clinton County, for example, has less than 23 percent of its population vaccinated.
"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," said Clinton County Commissioner Angela Harding.
UPMC Susquehanna currently runs a vaccine clinic every Wednesday in Clinton County. The hospital system says there have been many openings recently for vaccination appointments.
"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 being filled," said Susan Duchman of UPMC Susquehanna.
Clinton County has had more than 140 positive COVID-19 cases over the past week and a half. With cases on the rise, leaders in Clinton County are now faced with some challenges.
"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," said Harding.
Medical professionals at UPMC say the vaccination rate in Clinton County is a concern.
"The way to impact this pandemic is by having our populations vaccinated in order to stop the viruses from mutating and transmitting," said Duchman.
If you live in Clinton County or any of the surrounding central Pennsylvania counties, you can make an appointment to get vaccinated online through UPMC.