As confusion reigns among county residents over how, where and when to get the COVID-19 vaccines, the county commissioners urge citizens to be patient.

Leslie Osche, commissioners chairwoman, said Wednesday that all three county commissioners speak regularly with Department of Health officials, school superintendents, Butler Health System officials and others regarding the rollout of the vaccine in Butler County.

She said the main issue is that two companies, Pfizer and Moderna, are trying to make enough doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for the entire globe and not just the United States.

The fact that the currently approved vaccines include two doses per person doubles the number of doses that must be produced, and sites administering it must have the necessary freezers to accommodate the doses.

“We're at the mercy of the supply,” Osche said.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel said another factor is that a huge number of the doses allotted in the state and across the nation are going to nursing homes and other congregate-care facilities inhabited by senior citizens, as older people are the most likely to suffer the most severe illness and death from COVID-19.

He said the state has approved paramedics administering the vaccine, but it will take time to train them.

Osche said as of Wednesday, only Butler Health System, UPMC Passavant in Cranberry Township and Saxonburg Drug have doses of the vaccine, but that doesn't mean everyone in Phase 1A can go get a vaccine.

She said while residents in phase 1A — which includes those aged 65 and older, health care workers, those with high-risk conditions and those who are exposed to infectious materials — can log onto butlerhealthsystem.org to fill out a vaccine request form, the hospital is still vaccinating only employees at this point.

Butler Health System officials also announced that because of the short supply of vaccines, only seniors aged 75 and older can get the vaccine at the hospital at this time.

Osche said she was told major pharmacies will begin getting shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine, but no one knows exactly when.

Other drug manufacturers, including Johnson & Johnson, are close to having single-dose COVID-19 vaccines that do not require sub-zero freezing approved by the Federal Drug Administration, which could propel more doses into the mix, the commissioners said.

Steve Bicehouse, the county director of emergency services, said should a glut of vaccines appear, state Emergency Management Agency vaccination sites could be set up in the county “in a matter of hours.”

“We've had a plan for mass vaccinations since 2006,” Bicehouse said. “We have sites identified.”

He said until enough doses are available, setting up the vaccination sites would be futile.

Regarding the elderly who do not live in a senior facility, those without internet access should pay close attention to the local media to find out how to get a vaccine, Osche said.

Osche likened the current situation with vaccines to the shortage of masks, glove and gowns when the pandemic started in March.

“These are things we really should be looking at and learning from,” Osche said.

She again urged those looking to get the vaccine to wait patiently, but said there is no way to predict when all of those in Butler County who want the vaccine will have it.