On Tuesday, Governor Tom Wolf and Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam provided an update on the status of the COVID-19 vaccine roll out progress.
Wolf said Pennsylvania's supply of COVID-19 vaccines is limited and he blames the Trump administration for a poorly planned and poorly executed roll out of the vaccine.
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“Pennsylvania has not received enough doses to vaccinate the number of Pennsylvanians who need it, and that’s frustrating to all of us,” said Wolf. “The Trump Administration asked states to give more doses to more people, but the national stockpile was depleted.
“It is incredibly disappointing that the national vaccine supply is extremely limited, because states rely on the federal government to get the vaccine. My administration is fighting to make sure Pennsylvania gets our fair share of doses. Our goal remains to ensure every Pennsylvanian who wants a vaccine can get one.”
According to the state, 605,633 people have received the vaccine. Of those, 473,449 have received the first dose and the remainder have received the second dose as well.
Wolf said there aren't enough doses for those in the 1A phase of the vaccination process. "And since it’s a two-shot cycle, that means we have enough for basically 750,000 Pennsylvanians. There are over 4 million people in the 1A category. That means we need 8 million vaccines.
He acknowledged the need to improve processes pertaining to delivering and administering vaccines. "That’s where we’re doing everything we can to make that go as fairly – as quickly as possible -- and we know that we can do better because other states are ahead of us there, and so we’ll try to do better here in Pennsylvania."
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Beam said Pennsylvanians need to remain patient.
“We know that Pennsylvanians are ready for the vaccine,” said Acting Secretary Beam. “We ask for patience as the amount of the vaccine in Pennsylvania and the nation is limited. We want to ensure that the vaccine is provided in a way that is ethical, equitable and efficient, which is why we are taking a phased approach. This way we can make sure the most vulnerable residents can get vaccinated now.”