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HANOVER TWP. — Hanover Area School District Superintendent Nathan Barrett joined State Sen. John Yudichak, I-Swoyersville, in signing letters to both the state Department of Health and Walmart critical of Luzerne County vaccination efforts they say have fallen short in serving the school district and others in the county, in part by opening sites filled with pre-scheduled appointment.

“In good faith, we worked with you to provide a safe and easily accessible location for a vaccine distribution site on your explicit instructions that the site would make the vaccine available to eligible residents in this under-served area of Luzerne County,” the letters said. “Regrettably, your planning and execution of the vaccine distribution site left us in the dark, and most disconcerting, left many Luzerne County residents out in the cold with no chance of receiving the vaccine.”

The letter contends the state Department of Health “mismanaged the vaccine distribution plan from day one,” and says “It’s unacceptable that as it brings private retailers into the plan that such poorly executed vaccine distribution sites, like the Hanover site, could possibly occur this many months into the Department’s distribution plan of the COVID-19 vaccine.”

A mass vaccination site did open at the Hanover Area High School, available by appointment only, but the letters complain it was already booked full.

While supplies of vaccines have increased substantially, and are expected to continue to quickly grow with the approval of a third choice produced by Johnson and Johnson, demand continues to far outpace supply. It’s common to hear complaints from people who have tried to book appointments for weeks without success.

The letters signed by Yudichak and Barrett said “The people of Luzerne County deserve answers to account for the confusion caused by your handling of this situation. And most importantly, the people of Luzerne County deserve fair access to the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine.”

The letters closed “We respectfully request a full explanation and full accountability for the persons or the organizations at fault in this matter. Furthermore, we strongly urge both Walmart and the Department of Health to deliver on what they promised — a vaccine distribution site at Hanover Area High School that is open to the public and provides vaccines to the most vulnerable citizens in our community.”

Yudichak and Hanover Area super question vaccination effort