Pa. vaccine rollout improves
State hoping to move into next phase in early April
Just over three months into the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Pennsylvania ranks in the middle of the pack among states for giving first doses and is putting pressure on providers to get everyone in Phase 1a scheduled with the goal of moving into the next phase early in April.
To do that, it will have to step up its efforts to reach more of its large population of residents 65 and older, but Gov. Tom Wolf said distribution was speeding up, and counties and partnerships providing large clinics such as Wednesday’s driveup in Cranberry and the use of sports venues have been increasing.
“The pace of vaccinations in Pennsylvania is accelerating each day,” Mr. Wolf said in a news release Wednesday. “We have made tremendous progress, but we know we have more work to do.”
Pennsylvania ranks 21st in the percentage of the population that has received at least one dose of the vaccine, with its rate sitting at 22.7%.
Pennsylvania, Virginia and Arizona are all tied for this spot, while at nearly 30% New Mexico takes first place.
In Phase 1a, all residents 65 and
older are eligible to receive the vaccine. Among the states, Pennsylvania has the eighth highest percentage — 18.7 — of the population over 65. But it ranks 44th in the percentage of people in that age group who have been vaccinated. According to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 58% of that population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The state Health Department this week told vaccine providers to get everyone in 1a scheduled for an appointment by the end of the month.
“The department is working with providers to schedule appointments by March 31 for everyone in 1a who wants one; moving to people in 1b at the beginning of April and working through 1b and 1c in April to open eligibility to everyone by May,” Maggi Barton, the department’s deputy press secretary, said Wednesday. “The exact timing of progression will depend on the availability of vaccine from the federal government.”
Mr. Wolf has previously estimated that about 4.5 million people belong in the 1a group, although that includes people younger than 65 with qualifying medical conditions.
With 11.3% of the state fully vaccinated, Pennsylvania is near the national average, which is 11%, according to virologist and Columbia University professor of microbiology and immunology Vincent Racaniello.
He said that Pennsylvania’s vaccine rates were “kind of low.”
“There are other states that are doing better, and I think there could be an improvement, but overall I’m very optimistic,” Mr. Racaniello said.
As of Wednesday, a total of 1.3 million people across the state have been fully vaccinated.
In states similar in population to Pennsylvania’s — like Ohio and Illinois — the phases have moved more quickly.
In Ohio, which has given first shots to 21.1% of the population, vaccinations are currently open to anyone over the age of 50, and by March 29, anyone over the age of 16 will be eligible to schedule an appointment, Ohio press secretary Dan Tierney said. Ohio also has a central website where residents can schedule vaccination appointments.
“It’s a lot of working very closely with our partners, and redistributing and reallocating as needed,” Mr. Tierney said.
Illinois, which has a 22.5% vaccination level, had also moved into phase 1B in late February and plans to make all adults eligible for a vaccine by May 1.
To get more vaccines in people’s arms, Allegheny County has plans to open three more mass vaccination clinics by the end of March. UPMC held a driveup clinic at the Penguins practice center in Cranberry on Wednesday that followed a clinic at PPG Paints Arena. AHN and the Pirates have sponsored two clinics at PNC Park. And the Steelers and Giant Eagle have hosted them at Heinz Field.
The news of increased vaccinations comes as the state reports an additional 3,004 cases of COVID-19 for Wednesday and 37 new deaths.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 973,721 people have tested positive for the virus and 24,689 people have died in Pennsylvania.
In Allegheny County, about 25.7% of the population has received at least one dose of the virus. This ranks the county second in Western Pennsylvania behind Butler County with about 26.2%.
Trailing at the bottom is Beaver County with about 13.3% of the population having been given at least one dose.
Cases of COVID-19 in Allegheny County have plateaued over the past few weeks even as vaccination rates have gone up.
On Wednesday there were 285 new cases of the virus reported, bringing the county’s total to 80,645.
Those who have recently tested positive range in age from 9 months to 93 years old.
The county also reported six new deaths, which occurred between Feb. 20 and March 9.
Two of the deaths occurred in February, the Health
Department said. The deaths occurred among one person in their 60s, two in their 80s and three in their 90s.
Three of the deaths were associated with long-term care facilities, according to the Health Department.
A total of 1,738 people have died as a result of COVID-19 in Allegheny County.
Health officials in the county remain optimistic for the outlook of vaccines. The county is giving about 10,000 vaccine shots per day and expects that number to continue to rise as the supply of vaccines has stabilized, county Executive Rich Fitzgerald said.