Next up for COVID-19 vaccine: Those 75 and older
Pennsylvania residents
75 years of age and older will now be included in the next group to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
Dr. Rachel Levine, state secretary of health, said during a Wednesday briefing that the Department of Health is working on aligning its three-phase vaccine distribution plan for Phase
1B with the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices.
Under ACIP’s new recommendations released Tuesday, Phase 1B includes people 75 years or older in addition to essential workers, and personnel and staff at correctional institutions as well as inmates, Levine said.
The health department plans to partner with different entities including pharmacies, federally qualified health centers, doctor’s offices and hospitals to administer the vaccines in Phase 1B.
Levine said some vaccination clinics also may be included in that phase.
Phase 1B of the vaccination plan will begin when Phase 1A has been completed.
The state is in Phase 1A, which includes health care workers, and residents and staff of skilled nursing facilities.
“Since the first doses of the (Pfizer-BioNTech CO
VID-19) vaccine have arrived in Pennsylvania a little more than a week ago,
41,444 health care workers have received their first doses,” Levine said.
“Beginning next week, the federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens will start onsite COVID-19 vaccinations for residents and staff at skilled nurs
ing facilities across the state,” she said. “These facilities will be receiving the (Pfizer) vaccine.”
Hospitals began receiving shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last week. Through Tuesday, 109 hospitals had received 127,755 doses, the department reported.
This week hospitals began receiving shipments of the Moderna COVID-19
vaccine.
“Every health care worker who wants to be vaccinated will be vaccinated whether or not they are affiliated with a hospital,” Levine said.
“As hospitals are able to vaccinate their high risk workers, it is very important that they continue to vaccinate health care workers facing the same risks in their own workplace such as EMS providers, nonaffiliated physicians and their staff, and other stakeholders,” she said.
Levine said the department is encouraging hospitals to work with EMS providers and agencies, and other non-affiliated health care workers to get them vaccinated.
“EMS providers are called to care for people experiencing a health crisis or who are in immediate need of care,” Levine said. “While EMS workers do take steps to protect themselves including wearing personal protective equipment, they are walking into unknown situations and are really front line responders.”
Levine said how long each phase takes depends on how much vaccine is received each week. The number of doses the state receives is determined by Operation Warp Speed, which also sets the transportation schedule.
“Please remember as we start the vaccination process, it will be months before the vaccine manufacturers produce enough vaccine to immunize the general public,” Levine said.
“Mitigation right now is more important than ever,” she said. “As we approach the holiday season, we cannot let our guard down. We must stay the course. We must continue to follow our personal and collective responsibility to each other to prevent the spread of this virus.”
Levine added that the plateau in the number of daily new cases indicates how important it is for everyone to continue to do their part by wearing a mask, washing their hands, social distancing, and avoiding small and large gatherings to make sure the state does not have a rebound in January due to behaviors over the holidays.