Hospital to move vax site to former Sears
COVID-19 vaccinations will be moved from Butler Memorial Hospital to a section of the former Sears at the Clearview Mall.
Details were few, but the county commissioners on Wednesday approved a lease between the county and Clearview Mall Capital Holding to administer COVID-19 vaccinations in the automotive section of the former Sears department store on the south end of the mall on Route 8 in Center Township.
The county will pay $12,500 per month in the 90-day lease, which gives the county the option to extend the term.
The county will be reimbursed by the state Emergency Management Agency for the cost of the rent.
Butler Health System (BHS) will move its vaccination operation to the site in the interest of returning the hospital to normal operations, said Steve Bicehouse, the county's director of emergency services.
Bicehouse said while he does not know exactly when vaccinations will begin at the new site, BHS officials said those who have received their first Pfizer vaccine at Butler Memorial Hospital will get their second vaccine there as well.
The two Pfizer vaccines are generally given three weeks apart.
Until the new site opens, vaccinations will continue to be administered in the auditorium at Butler Memorial Hospital as long as doses are available.
Vaccinations were ongoing at the hospital as of Wednesday.
Jana Panther, BHS director of public relations, had no further information on the move Wednesday.
