Please do not call our office.  This causes a significant disruption in our ability to take care of our patients.  Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Covid-19 Vaccinations for members of Family Matters Direct Primary Care:

Dear FMDPC Patients, we are very excited to be able to offer you the covid-19 vaccination!  Please check your email for a detailed communication from us sent on 01/21/2021 at around 11am.  If you did not receive it, please check your spam folder.  

Here is our implementation strategy:

• Because our office is very small, we will be conducting covid-19 vaccinations in small groups of 10-20 patients on certain days of the week.
• There will not be a self-service scheduling link for the covid-19 vaccination.  We will call or email you when it is time to schedule. 
• Once you have agreed to a date and time, it cannot be rescheduled.  This is because the vaccine is only stable for a short time once opened.  If you do not show up for your appointment, the vaccine will be wasted, and we will not offer you another opportunity to be vaccinated at our office.  (Please also realize that if we waste numerous doses of vaccine, the PA Dept of Health will stop sending us more.)
• We will begin this vaccination process on Monday, January 25^th.  If you are over 65, expect a call from us within the next week or two.
• At your vaccine appointment, you will enter the office and fill out a pre-vaccine questionnaire.  You will then receive the vaccine.  You will remain in the examination room for a minimum of 15 minutes following the injection.  If you are feeling well at that point, you may leave the office.
• The covid-19 vaccine is FREE OF CHARGE.  This is paid for by Operation Warp Speed (via tax dollars).  Therefore, it makes no difference whether or not you have health insurance, nor what type of health insurance you have.  All are welcome to be vaccinated.
• We understand that this vaccine does not have long term safety data.  Therefore, every person must make an individual decision as to whether or not they would like to receive this vaccine.  We respect your decision and are here to support you either way.
• PLEASE do not call or email us about the covid-19 vaccine.  Instead, check this website which is updated frequently.

DIRECT CARE PHYSICIANS OF PGH COVID-19 VACCINE ADMINISTRATION TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS:

We will hold our next vaccination clinic at the Allegheny County Medical Society headquarters in the North Side on Sunday, January 24th.  If you have registered on our list, please check your email to see whether you have been scheduled for this Sunday.  Make sure you also look in the junk/spam folder.  The email might have come either from drlin@familymattersdpc.com or scheduling@acuityscheduling.com.  We are continuing to schedule patients for this upcoming clinic as we receive cancelations from healthcare workers who have already been vaccinated.  Please continue to check your emails over the course of the week.  

Our Registration Link has now closed.  We had 1,160 registrants.  We vaccinated 700, and the remaining 460 were able to receive the vaccine elsewhere.  We sincerely thank the other members of Direct Care Physicians of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County Medical Society, and numerous volunteers who worked so hard to make this happen!

"Second Dose" Clinics will be held as follows:

Sunday, February 7th - at Family Matters DPC office in Allison Park

• For people who were vaccinated at Family Matters DPC on 01/10/2021

Sunday February 14th - at ACMS ballroom on the North Side

• For people who were vaccinated at the ACMS ballroom on 01/17/2021

Sunday February 21st - at ACMS ballroom on the North Side

• For people who were vaccinated at the ACMS ballroom on 01/24/2021

Questions?

Please email us at directcarepgh@gmail.com, ONLY for questions related to upcoming vaccination clinics.  We will try to respond within 3 business days if possible. Due to the volume of emails we are receiving, please first try to confirm or cancel your appointment using the green buttons at the bottom of your scheduling confirmation email.

Please see this briefing from Allegheny County Health Department director Dr. Debra Bogen about why Allegheny County remains in the 1A Phase despite what you may have heard in the news:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvq0jMF12lc&feature=youtu.be

Selected scientific articles regarding the covid-19 vaccines:

• FDA Briefing Document for Moderna vaccine
• New England Journal of Medicine (Dec 2020): Efficacy and Safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine
• CDC information for the public

Click here to view the Commonwealth of PA Interim COVID-19 Vaccination Plan.

Our waiting list has approximately 1,000 people on it.  We recommend that if you have not registered with us already, please try one of the other locations in this area:

Local resources for the Covid-19 vaccine:

Allegheny Health Network will vaccinate entire medical practices:

For more information please contact Maria Tassari Ostojichvia email at Maria.Ostojich@ahn.org

Allegheny Health Network is is also vaccinating healthcare workers and persons over the age of 75.  Here is their registration link:

https://hrservices-highmarkhealth.secure.force.com/apex/Covid_Vaccine_Scheduler?fbclid=IwAR0vKcB39_V-os-LxQA8mCNMM9a_IXXJJUKaS3UlUR0ELPTxUGH_NktqsUE

Please be aware that even though the above link technically allows anyone to schedule, only qualified 1A recipients, including community healthcare workers and patients over the age of 75, are the ones eligible for receiving the vaccine right now. Those not meeting these specific requirements may be turned away. There is only a limited supply, but AHN is hoping to expand access to 65 and older as well as 16+ with high-risk conditions as early as next week.

Rite Aid

Have heard that people are starting to have success scheduling.  May have to check back frequently.

https://riteaid.​​​​​​​reportsonline.com/rsched/program/PS2021/Patient/Advisory

Giant Eagle

Have heard that people are starting to have success scheduling.  May have to check back frequently.

https://gianteaglesched.rxtouch.com/gesched/program/immunizations/Patient/Advisory

UPMC

UPMC is vaccinating healthcare workers (both affiliated and unaffiliated) but has not yet opened to the general public as of 01/20/2021.

https://www.upmc.com/coronavirus/covid-vaccine

Armstrong County Memorial Hospital

https://acmh.appointlet.com/?fbclid=IwAR2jctLzWakyBSEqgeNAUwUlyauvjY0b7dl_604qHFPSAxwkJTwz9S9qzzc

Squirrel Hill Family Health Center

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd8qJP5Opmvabs3KsJwjtfly8UvJ8vmE9MT7hRmAzxymsCGcg/viewform

Allegheny County Health Department (Doubletree Hotel, Monroeville)

Individuals 65 years old and older will be able to be vaccinated at the Health Department's Monroeville clinic starting Monday, January 25. An appointment is required for the site.  DO NOT use Internet Explorer browser to schedule.

https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Resources/COVID-19/COVID-19-Vaccine-Information.aspx

The Allegheny County Health Dept will be launching a phone system for all questions related to the covid-19 vaccine.  They hope for this new system to be in effect by 01/21/2021.  In the meantime, citizens of Allegheny County are encouraged to sign up for Allegheny Alerts to receive important updates about the vaccination process.  Click here for the registration link for Allegheny Alerts.

St. Clair Hospital

We aren't sure who they are vaccinating.  Heard through the grapevine that it's still healthcare workers only.  Will try to get more concrete info.

https://forms.stclair.org/vacreq/?fbclid=IwAR3wDG6OHCt9mXzWZMLcayDIga3YDviUMKQMWkEsap0r-YbBRawLmqPTE3k

Beaver Health Mart Pharmacy

https://beaverhealthmart.com/covid-19/

VA Hospital in Oakland

For current patients age 65+.  We have also heard that they are vaccinating non-patients (spouses, etc).  Please reach out to the VA directly for more information.

Sharon Regional in Mercer County

Call 724-983-7251. Leave a message if you get the voicemail. Must be PA resident and bring ID as proof. It is appointment only. 

Other local resources can be found on the PA Dept of Health Covid Vaccine mapper and guide:

https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/programs/immunizations/Pages/COVID-19-Vaccine-Providers.aspx

https://www.pa.gov/guides/get-vaccinated/