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Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Jan. 20, 2023) – On Friday, Feb. 3, Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) will officially close its five COVID-19 vaccine clinics in Whitehall, Easton, Hazleton, Pottsville and East Stroudsburg (as well as the network’s Mobile Vaccination Unit).
Going forward, initial vaccine doses for people 6 months and older and booster shots for people 5 years and older will be available at all Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) primary care (internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics) practices. Scheduling for COVID-19 vaccines at these practices will open over the next two weeks.
A majority of the vaccines available will be Pfizer-BioNTech, and individuals will not be able to request the specific brand they want to receive. The Novavax vaccine will no longer be available at any LVHN facilities.
The community clinics were established by LVHN in spring 2021 to provide easy access to COVID-19 vaccinations. Since December 2020 when the vaccines first became available, LVHN has administered over 620,000 shots (including primary doses and boosters) to adults, teens and children throughout the region.
How to schedule
Initial vaccine doses and boosters will be given during specific vaccination appointments or as part of yearly physical or sick/problem visits (as long as the patient is not experiencing symptoms of COVID-19). While most LVPG primary care practices will be offering vaccine appointments starting Monday, Feb. 6, some practices may not have doses of the vaccines until later in the month.
Appointments can be scheduled with an individual’s LVPG practice two ways:
- By calling their LVPG primary care physician’s office
- By logging in to their MyLVHN account, which is the network’s patient portal
Similar to other vaccinations at LVPG practices, an administration fee will be billed to patients’ insurance policies after they have received their shot.
If an individual wants to receive their initial vaccine series or booster through LVHN but they are not a current patient, they can call 888-402-LVHN (5846) to make a new patient appointment. Alternatively, the initial vaccine series and boosters are available at retail pharmacies throughout the region.
Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) includes 13 hospital campuses, four in Allentown, two in Bethlehem, one in Easton, one in East Stroudsburg, one in Hazleton, two in Pottsville, one in Dickson City, and one in Lehighton, Pa.; 28 health centers; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices; 20 ExpressCARE locations including the area’s only Children’s ExpressCARE; pharmacy, imaging, home health, rehabilitation and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred. Specialty care includes: trauma care for adults and children, burn care at the Regional Burn Center; kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, orthopedics, neurology, complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, and robotic surgery in 10 specialties. Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute, Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence, Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute and Lehigh Valley Fleming Neuroscience Institute physicians provide the most advanced treatments. Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute is a member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance (MSK Cancer Alliance), an initiative that helps community providers improve the quality of cancer care and offers access to MSK clinical trials. Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, the third largest children’s hospital in Pennsylvania, provides care in more than 30 specialties and general pediatrics. Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest is ranked as the region’s No. 1 hospital for nine straight years and has been recognized among Pennsylvania’s top 10 hospitals for nine consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest, LVH–17th Street and LVH–Muhlenberg are the region’s only Magnet® hospitals for nursing excellence. Additional information is available by visiting LVHN.org or following us on Facebook , Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Brian Downs
Public Information Officer
Marketing and Public Affairs
Lehigh Valley Health Network
LVHN.org
