The Butler County Area Agency on Aging was recognized by the state at a news conference Thursday regarding the state's vaccine distribution.

“It's been such a great group effort,” said the county agency's director, Beth Herold. “We all love our population that we serve, and it's great to see that we're making a difference for those in our county.”

At the news conference, Secretary Robert Torres of the state Department of Aging used the Butler County agency as an example of how its local agencies have helped with vaccine distribution.

“Butler's story is inspiring and, while it's unique, it's worth sharing as a success story,” Torres said.

Torres shared the many responsibilities the local agency has undertaken, including helping residents who are age 65 and older schedule and get to and follow-up on vaccine appointments.

The agency has assisted about 1,200 residents schedule their vaccine appointments, he said.

“As a result of these efforts, they have been able to achieve a 0% no-show rate, meaning no one has missed their appointment,” Torres said.

As positive news came for Butler County's vaccine distribution, the pandemic claimed one more county resident's life, according to Thursday's report by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county also added 34 new confirmed cases of the virus.

According to further data, about 15,935 county residents have received their first dose of the vaccine and 5,372 of those residents have received their second dose, which gives them the fullest immunization from the two FDA-approved vaccines.

Herold said Thursday also marked the completion of an effort by her agency to vaccinate many older residents living in congregate settings that were not covered by the federal government's program that vaccinated nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

Herold said about 900 vaccines have been distributed through these efforts and about the same amount will be needed for second doses in a couple weeks.

“They were so excited to get their vaccine,” Herold said. “I'm so glad we can help that population. The least we can do is make sure their needs are being met.”

The agency has taken more than 3,000 phone calls from people, who either have a lack of technology or difficulty using the technology.

Herold said it took a lot of effort and hard work by many people, different departments and Butler Health System to create a network that could vaccinate more people than it does currently.

“We've just put mechanisms in place to move it out as quickly as we could to those in the community,” she said.

In the news conference, Gov. Tom Wolf said supply continues to be the key issue, even as he admitted Pennsylvania's distribution plans have fallen short.

“The chief constraint right now is the supply,” Wolf said. “Three-quarters of the vaccines that are needed in Pennsylvania right now, this minute, are not available.”

Wolf said he and his staff have recognized that the distribution needs to be better, which is why state officials are highlighting community partners who have helped raise that bar.

He said those partnerships will be vital in making improvements locally, while a bipartisan legislative task force on vaccine distribution begins its conversations Friday.

“Even if we're doing a perfect job, which we're not, we still don't have enough vaccines,” Wolf said. “We will continue to work on doing a better job. I promise we will do a much better job.”