Pa. outlines plan to step up shots
State broadening scale through mix of providers
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday outlined a “four-pillar” infrastructure plan for increasing vaccine distribution as it prepares to meet the goal of opening up shots to all adults by May.
The pillars of the plan include providers receiving direct federal allocation of vaccines, targeted vaccination clinics using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on frontline workers, “focused” providers like mass vaccination sites and mobile vaccination units.
Those focused providers are made up of some 200 to 300 entities that will receive targeted allocations of vaccine in the coming weeks, acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said.
In selecting the providers, the Department of Health looked at factors like geographic reach, ease of access for residents, demographic equity and estimated demand. Ability to administer a high volume of first doses within a week of receiving vaccines and reporting vaccine data were also taken into account, Ms. Beam said.
“There’s a mix of provider types, including hospitals, pharmacies, federally qualified health centers and public health providers,” Ms.
Beam said during a virtual news conference.
The state’s vaccine provider map will be updated with more features on which providers have available appointments, doses and when vaccinations have been scheduled.
Ms. Beam also cited Pittsburgh as an area where local leadership was building partnerships to expand vaccination possibilities.
“That’s what residents need to see in every corner of the state,” she said.
The department said vaccinations continue to accelerate. An analysis of federal data on the number of vaccines administered per 100,000 of population over the past week puts Pennsylvania second in the nation behind only New Mexico, it said.
More than 3.9 million doses of vaccine have been administered across the state and more than 1.3 million people have been fully vaccinated.
People ages 50-64 can receive COVID-19 vaccines from the Allegheny County Health Department starting Friday as long as they have certain medical conditions, the county has announced.
Previously, only people age 65 and older were able to receive shots from the five county- run vaccination sites. The changes do not apply to clinics held through other providers, which may have already been vaccinating people below age 65.
“By the end of the week, at least 50% of those county residents who are 65 years of age and older will have received at least one vaccine,” said Dr. Debra Bogen, the director of the county Health Department. “Although we still have work to do serving this population, these data tell us we need to expand our eligibility requirements for vaccination.”
Conditions that will qualify people for the vaccine are: cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, Down syndrome, heart conditions other than high blood pressure, sickle cell disease, smoking and Type 2 diabetes. People who are immunocompromised, obese or pregnant also will be eligible.
The county makes vaccines available through the Health Department’s sites through prior registration. Appointment openings are announced through the Allegheny Alerts system and can be made on the county’s website. People who cannot access the internet or have trouble navigating the website, can call 211 for scheduling assistance when the appointments are available.
The Central Baptist Church will open as a vaccine site in the Hill District on March 22. The Health Department said this site will be operated with the goal of “targeting specific communities and populations who have not yet been reached,” including those with accessibility and translation needs.
Additionally, the Ross Township Community Center will open as a site on March 22.
The county has three other sites: at the Petersen Events Center in Oakland, in Castle Shannon and in Monroeville.
The county Health Department and other providers have so far given more than 320,000 people at least one dose of the vaccine in the county, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Meanwhile, the county Health Department on Thursday reported 296 new cases of COVID-19, made up of 180 confirmed cases and 116 probable positives.
The newly infected people ranged in age from 10 months to 92 years, the department reported.
There were no new deaths reported, but the Health Department said three of Wednesday’s reported deaths were found to have been residents of other counties and were removed from the Allegheny County total, which now stands at 1,735.
Statewide, the Department of Health reported 3,126 new cases of the virus and 17 new deaths, bringing the commonwealth’s total to 976,847 COVID-19 infections and 24,706 deaths.
More information about COVID-19 and vaccines can be found on the county’s dashboard and the Pennsylvania Department of Health website.