Following direction from President Joe Biden last Thursday saying all American adults should be eligible for a COVID vaccine by May 1, Governor Wolf laid out the next steps in Pennsylvania's vaccination plan.
At a press conference Friday, the Governor said the state will issue an order requiring vaccine providers to make best efforts to schedule all Phase 1A appointments by the end of the March.
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"We're announcing our commitment to the people of Pennsylvania that, to the extent we can do it, appointments are going to be scheduled by the end of March for those in Phase 1A who want to receive a vaccine. Every single one," he said.
To help achieve that goal, "we're gonna be providing greater visibility into their future allocations. This is going to allow them to schedule appointments with confidence, having sufficient supply to keep those appointments," said Wolf.
The state also plans to use it's Johnson & Johnson supply to target other essential workers after its initiative to vaccinate educators and child care workers ends.
The administration will establish regional vaccination clinics and target essential workers like first responders and grocery store workers with the state's weekly Johnson & Johnson shipments.
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"Our goal in establishing special vaccination initiatives is to help protect frontline essential workers in the communities in all of our communities," explained the governor.
He said he's pleased with the progress made in the state's distribution.
The national average for first doses is 19%. "Pennsylvania, I'm proud to say is at 19.8%. This is significant growth in getting people vaccinated," said Wolf.