Officials: Snow won’t derail Pa. vaccinations

State is preparing to deliver doses in less than ideal conditions

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency planned for a number of contingencies in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine and will get its first test Wednesday: heavy snow.

With the Pittsburgh area expected to receive up to 8 inches and parts of Central and Eastern Pennsylvania a foot or more, state officials said Tuesday they are prepared to ensure vaccine deliveries can be made. PEMA Director Randy Padfield said the state had been monitoring the storm for several days and would activate its emergency operations center to monitor conditions and coordinate activities with the Department of Transportation, Turnpike Commission and state police.

Melissa Batula, PennDOT’s deputy secretary for highway administration, said the department should have a full complement of about 4,700 road crew workers available to clean up during and after the storm. The department has temporarily transferred some workers from the Erie area, which isn’t expecting much snow, to other parts of the state to beef up areas expecting to be hard hit, such as the Interstate 81 corridor.

“We will do everything in our power to make sure the vaccine gets through,” she said. “We need the public’s help in dealing with weather.”

Ms. Batula and others said the biggest help motorists could

provide would be to stay home unless they are frontline workers or have an emergency.

The storm’s arrival at the beginning of vaccine distribution “adds complications” to the state’s response, Mr. Padfield said, adding, “Obviously, there are going to be some challenges.”

Mr. Padfield said those could include rerouting vaccine deliveries to roads with less snow or traffic congestion. Although the vaccine must be kept at ultra-low temperatures, Mr. Padfield said it is packed to withstand travel delays, and the state could arrange to take dry ice to the delivery vehicles if that becomes necessary.

The key to maintaining traffic flow is to avoid multivehicle accidents, officials said. The state will try to control that by reducing speeds on interstate highways and prohibiting tractor-trailers if conditions become too dangerous.

In the first round of vaccine deliveries this week, 13,650 doses were to be delivered to Philadelphia and 97,500 across the rest of the state. Mr. Padfield said seven or eight deliveries were scheduled Wednesday and more Thursday, but where they were headed was unavailable.

The deliveries are being flown here from a distribution center in Kentucky to various airports and driven to hospitals.

Gov. Tom Wolf said the National Guard also would be available to help with problems.

“I want to assure all residents that our Commonwealth is prepared for this storm,” he said. “There is something simple people can do to help. That is stay home if you can.”