All Pa. adults eligible for COVID-19 shots
Wolf speeds up access with virus cases rising
Gov. Tom Wolf and the COVID19 Task Force on Monday announced that all adults in Pennsylvania will be eligible to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment beginning Tuesday.
As vaccinations rise, the state announced plans to serve remote communities with mobile vaccinations, and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald told business leaders some people are returning to their workplaces.
“Everyone needs and should be afforded the opportunity to access the vaccine as soon as possible,” said state acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam. “This change provides earlier access for many, including college students, increasing the likelihood of completion of two-dose regimens prior to leaving campus for the summer.”
Ms. Beam said the change also means “simpler, streamlined operations” for vaccine providers that no longer need to check eligibility of people making appointments.
The state had initially planned to make those 16 and older vaccine eligible on April 19.
The Department of Health said there is ongoing appointment availability in many parts of the state even as phases 1a and 1b continue and 1c began Monday. With the change in eligibility, officials said, those in Phase 2 will become eligible, opening vaccines to all.
“We need to maintain acceleration of the vaccine rollout, especially as case counts and hospitalization rates have increased,” Mr. Wolf said. “Therefore, just as President Biden has brought forward universal adult access to vaccines from May 1 to April 19, we are moving Pennsylvania’s timeline of universal adult access to April 13.”
Along with Latino Connection founder and CEO George Fernandez and other health officials, Ms. Beam also said the Department of Health and its community partners will launch a mobile vaccination tour to provide vaccines and vaccination education to minority and underserved communities across the state.
The mobile unit, dubbed Community-Accessible Testing & Education, was founded last year by Latino Connection to provide testing opportunities and education for vulnerable communities.
On its stops, CATE will provide vaccinations regardless of income or health insurance, Mr. Fernandez said.
Mr. Fernandez said preregistration for the unit’s events, via www.catemobileunit.com, will begin next week.
Ms. Beam said she and other health officials are “incredibly concerned” about people who continue to refuse the vaccine. She said education will be critical going forward in order to convince as many people as possible the vaccine is safe and effective.
Ms. Beam said that in the coming weeks and months, more small providers and primary care physicians will receive vaccines to administer to patients as well.
The Department of Health has set a goal of vaccinating at least 80% of the state’s population, Ms. Beam added.
The Allegheny County Health Department on Monday reported 717 new coronavirus cases but no additional deaths over the previous 48 hours.
Of the newly reported cases, officials say that 544 are confirmed while 173 are probable. The new cases range in age from 97 years to 4 months, with a median age of 30 years.
There have been 90,634 total cases and 6,206 total hospitalizations in Allegheny County since the pandemic started.
The countywide death toll to date stands at 1,813.
As the featured guest on Business As Usual, an online show discussing local business and technology by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, Mr. Fitzgerald noted on Monday that nearly 300,000 people in the county have been fully vaccinated while an additional 200,000 have received their first shot.
When asked when people will begin to go back to their workplaces en masse, Mr. Fitzgerald said that it’s already beginning to happen as more people in the county get vaccinated. Yet he also said that some employers may decide to keep remote work as an option for their staff.
Mr. Fitzgerald said he believes a state or federal vaccination mandate is unlikely.
Mr. Fitzgerald, who has appeared on the show four times, concluded by suggesting his fifth appearance will be in person, saying with confidence that he believes the county will have 70% to 80% of its eligible population vaccinated in the next 12 weeks.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Monday said it had 6,450 new cases of COVID-19 in the previous 48 hours, which increases the state total to 1,068,974.
The state also reported four new deaths. Since the pandemic began, 25,406 Pennsylvanians have died as a result of the virus.
Currently, there are 2,460 people — most of whom are 65 or older — hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those, 516 are in intensive care.
The state said it has administered more than 6.4 million total vaccine doses, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said ranks fifth in the U.S.
More than 2.4 million people are fully vaccinated. According to the seven-day moving average, more than 87,000 people are vaccinated per day, the Health Department said.
Nearly 39% of state residents have received a first dose, which ranks 11th.