Shortages slow local vaccine effort

By ERIC SEIVERLING

eseiverling@yourmvi.com

Ron Chromulak, commander of VFW Post 1190 in Monessen, was prepared to receive his first COVID-19 vaccination shot Saturday morning at the Veterans Administration hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.

But he said the hospital ran out of doses barely an hour into the vaccination process, and Chromulak didn’t even make it past the hospital’s parking garage.

“The officer told me the parking garage was full, the building was full and you can’t go in; they won’t let you in,” he said.

After calling the hospital, Chromulak was transferred to a VA hospital in Butler County, which told him all the vaccines had been given.

“I didn’t have any choice,” Chromulak said. “I came home.”

Chromulak was able to return to the VA hospital Monday morning and receive his vaccination without a hitch after the hospital instituted an organized scheduling process.

“It was a big difference,” he said. “Everything went smoothly.”

Chromulak’s experience is just one of many examples of the frustration, questions and uncertainty facing Mon Valley residents who try to get the vaccine in an effort to quell the COVID-19 pandemic.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Tuesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.