Pennsylvania must stop shortchanging region

There’s been plenty of good news in recent weeks regarding the vaccination effort that’s required to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s something seriously wrong with the way the vaccine doses that are available are being allocated.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has received government approval. Production of the other two approved vaccines is ramping up. President Joe Biden declared that by mid-May there should be enough vaccine produced to meet the needs of the entire U.S. population.

Yet in this area the situation regarding vaccine distribution doesn’t seem to have improved all that much. So many people desperately want to get vaccinated yet cannot get an appointment.

We do understand that for all the promising recent developments, it takes awhile for the increased vaccine supply to make it to states and then to be distributed to those who will administer it.

But even accounting for that, there’s something seriously wrong with the way the vaccine doses that are available are being allocated.

For starters, it’s mystifying that the counties of southeastern Pennsylvania are being shortchanged when it comes to vaccine distribution.

The Southeast was an early focal point for pandemic mitigation, among the state’s first hot spots for cases and the last region to fully reopen following the shutdowns in the spring. It’s also the most populous region of Pennsylvania.

Yet based on vaccine allocations and the number of people vaccinated since December, the region does not appear to be receiving the same amount of attention when it comes to vaccine distribution.

Meanwhile other regions and counties seem to be doing better with their vaccination efforts.

It’s perplexing. And though the state Department of Health acknowledges that it’s an issue, it hasn’t offered any reasonable explanation for it to the public or to officials in the affected counties.

Neighboring Berks County, as is all too often the case, has been given an extra dose of disrespect by the state. When Department of Health officials held a conference call Sunday with regional leaders to discuss the issue, no Berks officials were invited.

The meeting was not particularly informative or productive in terms of easing concerns, which caused officials in the four counties -Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware -- to issue a statement of protest on Monday.

In addition to county officials’ complaint, the Republican Southeast House delegation demanded the Wolf administration give the responsibility for allocating and distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to the Pennsylvania National Guard.

“There are people throughout Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties who should have already been vaccinated if the administration had followed an equitable distribution formula,” said Rep. Frank Farry, the Republican who represents the 142nd District in Bucks County. “The planning of this distribution has lacked transparency; it’s been a disaster. The National Guard specializes in logistics, and that’s how we fix this moving forward.”

We applaud county and state leaders for speaking out on these issues and demanding fairness and respect for our region.

It’s clear what’s needed in this situation. The state must ensure our counties have the vaccine supply needed, and an easy, straightforward system for making appointments must be put in place.

For too long seeking an opportunity to get vaccinated has been more like playing the lottery than making a medical appointment.

It’s time for the state to provide answers regarding its policies on vaccine distribution, to make the process fairer, and to give our counties their due share.

Anything less is unacceptable.