PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania is moving ahead of schedule for its COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan on Tuesday. Anyone 16 and older can now sign up for an appointment.
The move to Phase 2 was supposed to happen next week Monday, but acting Health Secretary Allison Beam says coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are up in the state, and there was enough hesitancy in recent weeks that providers actually couldn't fill all the appointments.
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"We realized that the need to keep the demand at its highest propensity possible was incredibly important. And so that's why we progressed to Phase 2, to allow us to again sustain that demand, which can keep the pace of the vaccinations up," Beam said Monday.
Eligibility is one thing; availability, another. Millions more people are now in the pool to sign up for the appointments, and doses of course are still limited. Some may not get an appointment for days or even weeks.
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So the state website has a provider look-up tool that shows who offers the shot nearby. The Pennsylvania Department of Health has information on how to prepare for an appointment. Help is available at the PA Health Hotline at 877-724-3258. And people seeking vaccinations can also register with their county health departments:
• Bucks County, 800-383-0371
• Chester County, 610-344-6225
• Delaware County, 484-276-2100
• Montgomery County, 833-875-3967
Philadelphia is distributing its vaccines separately from the rest of the state and is still in Phase 1c. The city and New Jersey are sticking to their plans to open up eligibility to everyone 16 and older next week Monday, April 19.
According to Johns Hopkins University, 21% of Pennsylvania residents are fully vaccinated. That's 2.6 million people. In New Jersey, 24% are fully vaccinated, and in Delaware, that number is 20%.