State making plans for vaccine distribution

3 phases to inoculations, with January goal to begin

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is preparing for the distribution and administration of a voluntary coronavirus vaccine or vaccines.

Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of health, said during a media call on Thursday that the state already submitted the first draft of its plan to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was currently working on revisions based on the CDC’s feedback.

“We are actively preparing to be able to receive, store, distribute and then administer the vaccine or vaccines in Pennsylvania,” she said. “Our initial plans for distributing the vaccine will be in (three) phases.”

Levine said the phases of dis

tribution will start with health care and essential works on the frontline of the pandemic and the most vulnerable populations.

Phase 2 will include more people considered in those two groups, and Phase 3 will include the general public.

She said the plan will need to be flexible and adjusted based on which vaccines are available and the recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the CDC.

A number of vaccines are currently undergoing clinical trials.

Once a vaccine is deemed to be safe and effective, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can grant emergency use authorization for that vaccine, meaning the vaccine can then be distrib

uted and administered.

Levine said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Operation Warp Speed is currently prioritizing six vaccines. The goal of the operation is to produce and deliver doses of safe and effective vaccines with initial doses being available by January.

Though Levine said there is currently no timetable on when the state can begin to distribute and administer the vaccine or vaccines because it has to wait for the vaccines to be approved, she did say the state will be ready to go as soon as the vaccine is available.

“We’ll be mobilizing the vaccine for distribution as soon as we get it,” she said. “We will be prepared when getting the vaccines. We’re going to have all of those distribution plans laid out.”

Levine added the the plan is to do “thousands and thousands of vaccinations

every day.”

Precautions to remain

Vaccination is an important tool in controlling infectious disease, but it does not mean the state can become lax in its containment and mitigation efforts which have been continuing throughout the pandemic, she said.

“(The vaccines are) not going to be a magical cure for the coronavirus and will not immediately end the pandemic,” Levine said. “We anticipate that the COVID-19 vaccine will be somewhat similar to the flu vaccine.”

Even people who receive a flu shot may still come down with the flu.

When they do, if they had a vaccine, the symptoms are often less severe and last for a shorter time. The same is expected with the COVID-19 vaccines.

Levine said it is important for the public to understand

that the distribution and administration of vaccines does not mean the pandemic is over and the same safety measures that have been in place this year will need to continue.

“It really is not going to change the policies and procedures that we have until we get enough of the people in the commonwealth vaccinated that there’s significant decreases in the amount of community spread,” she said. “We anticipate that it will take months and months and months to work through all those (vaccination) phases and to have millions and millions of people in Pennsylvania vaccinated and then the community spread will go down significantly.”

What the arrival and administration of a vaccine does mean is that people will be more protected and lessen their chance of getting COVID-19 or a very se

vere case.

“When people get the vaccine, they will still need to wear masks,” Levine said. “They’re still going to need to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer. They still need to social distance and avoid large gatherings.”

‘Stop the spread’

It is not known how long a vaccine would protect against COVID-19. Five of the six vaccines being prioritized will require an initial shot followed by a second booster at a later time.

Though people will be encouraged to get a COVID-19 vaccine when one or more become available, as is done with the flu vaccine every year, the COVID-19 vaccine will be voluntary.

Levine said there are no plans to make it mandatory.

She added that the containment, mitigation and vaccination efforts are all designed to lessen the im

pact of COVID-19 and stop the spread.

“In Pennsylvania, we are continuing to see a large number of new cases of COVID-19 across the state,” she said. “COVID-19 is really impacting all of our communities and everyone in Pennsylvania, which is why it is essential that we take the steps to stop the spread.”

Though there has been an increase in the number of cases, Levine said the state plans to continue its current containment and mitigation efforts. When asked, she said there are no plans to shut down schools or return to the use of the red, yellow and green phases.

In addition to continuing to follow current guidelines, including wearing a mask and social distancing, Levine encouraged residents to work with contact tracer in the event they are contacted and to download the COVID-19 alert app.