Philadelphia has extended its agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to continue the operation of the mass COVID vaccine clinic at the Pennsylvania Convention Center (1101 Arch St.) until May 25. The clinic has again begun administering first doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week after completing the administration of second doses over the past three weeks to those who received their first doses last month.

On Wednesday, the FEMA-run Center City clinic began accepting walk-ups.

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The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has paused distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following the recommendations by the CDC and US Food and Drug Administration after reports of rare blood clotting disorder in six recipients of the shot.

Starting today, the FEMA-run Center City vaccination clinic has again started administering first doses of the Pfizer vaccine instead of the previously planned J & J vaccinations. This clinic will continue with the Pfizer vaccine for the foreseeable future and will maintain the current 6,000 appointments and walk-ups per day, according to an announcement by the Health Department. UPDATE: The site will continue operating until May 26. Continue Reading

The University of the Sciences (USciences), one of the city’s neighborhood mass COVID vaccination sites, will hold two walk-up vaccine clinics this month – on April 13 and April 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The clinics will be held at USciences’ Athletic/Recreation Center (ARC), 730 S. 43rd St.

All city-run mass vaccine clinics are open to Philadelphia residents only. Residents who meet the Philadelphia Phase 1a, 1b and 1c criteria are currently eligible to get vaccinated. UPDATE: Philadelphia opened COVID vaccine eligibility to all adults (aged a6 and older) on April 16.

When going to a city-run vaccine clinic please make sure to bring your ID or a piece of mail or utility bill that has your address and name on it. Continue Reading

The city’s Department of Public Health is opening three walk-up vaccine clinics in three neighborhoods, one of them in West Philly, to reach out to more residents over the age of 65 who haven’t yet received their COVID vaccine shots.

Starting today (Wed, April 7), Health Center 3 located in Clark Park at 43rd and Chester will host walk-up clinics every Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for those who are 65 and older. Continue Reading

Philadelphia officials have announced the date of the start of Phase 2 of COVID vaccine eligibility, when everyone over the age of 16 will be eligible to get vaccinated. The date is April 19, the same as in Pennsylvania, and it is two weeks earlier from the previously estimated date – May 1.

Starting Monday, April 12, Philadelphia will expand vaccine eligibility to more groups of essential workers under the current Phase 1C. These groups include construction workers, transportation workers, social service workers, finance and legal workers, as well as people working in higher education and IT & telecommunications, and more. Phase 1C began yesterday, but only four groups of essential workers in this phase are currently eligible to get vaccinated: postal and package delivery workers, sanitation workers, utility workers, and maintenance and janitorial staff. Continue Reading

Philadelphia will enter the next phase of COVID vaccine eligibility, Phase 1c, beginning Monday, April 5, the city’s Department of Public Health announced today. This phase includes essential workers with lower risk of coronavirus exposure. The following four groups of essential workers are being prioritized within this phase and will be eligible to receive the vaccine starting this Monday:

• sanitation workers
• maintenance and janitorial workers
• utility workers
• postal and package delivery workers

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