To help ensure everyone in our community has access to the COVID-19 vaccination, Lehigh Valley Health Network will provide vaccinations without charge. The decision was announced by Brian Nester, DO, MBA, FACOEP, president and CEO for LVHN.

“We believe it is essential that all citizens have an opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, and cost should not be a barrier,” Nester says. “We will offer this vaccine free of charge to the community so we can help ensure everyone can receive this protective shot to help end the pandemic.”

LVHN has vaccinated about 8,000 front-line staff, more than any other health provider in the region. The network continues to vaccinate other health care workers as quickly and safely as possible as the vaccine arrives to ensure they are able to care for our patients and the public. LVHN received an additional 9,000 doses and will use them as quickly as possible to vaccinate as many community caregivers, EMS and others in Tiers 1A and 1B so that we can move deeper into the community when supplies permit.

Providing the COVID-19 vaccine to the public will occur in the coming months when supplies are made available for mass vaccination.

“Our LVHN team is actively working on logistics so we are ready to go once supplies are ready,” Nester says.

Currently, two COVID-19 vaccines have been given emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, one from Pfizer/BioNTech and the other from Moderna. Additional vaccine candidates are in various stages of review.

For more details about when the vaccine will be available, and how to obtain a second dose, the community is encouraged to sign up for MyLVHN, LVHN’s patient portal that is powered by Epic.

“MyLVHN will provide a convenient way to learn about COVID-19 vaccination events as they are scheduled,” Nester says.

Sign up online at MyLVHN.org or through the free MyLVHN app for Apple and Android devices. Visit the Apple App Store or Google Play to download the MyLVHN app for your smart device. You also can learn more about MyLVHN at LVHN.org/MyLVHN.

COVID-19 vaccine information, including FAQs and videos, is available at LVHN.org/vaccines.