Two to three hundred vaccine providers received shipments of first doses this week, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
In a briefing Thursday, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said the shrinking network is the result of a survey sent to providers to determine which ones can most efficiently administer shots.
"We took into account geographic reach, access for residents, equity across demographics, throughput and estimated demand," Beam said. "The ability to administer a high volume of first doses within the first seven days of delivery, maintain equity across racial, ethnicity and socioeconomic lines, other factors, as well as the ability to capture and report vaccine administration data within 24 hours have all been taken into account."
Providers include hospitals, pharmacies, federally qualified health centers and public health providers.
Beam says those providers will be part of a four pillar plan to help the state reach its goal of scheduling all Pennsylvanians in Phase 1A by the end of March and making all adults eligible for a vaccine by May 1.
The four pillars include providers receiving federal allocation, targeted vaccination clinics using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for certain essential workers, the state's focused provider network and state mass vaccination sites.
Beam says the state mass vaccination sites will be high throughput locations operated by PEMA and the health department. They'll also utilize mobile clinics.
"These four pillars will be the infrastructure needed to make sure everyone eligible in Phase 1A is able to schedule an appointment by March 31 and then quickly move through Phases 1B and 1C," Beam said.
At Thursday's briefing, Beam touted the state's recent vaccine numbers.
With 1.3 million Pennsylvanians fully vaccinated and nearly 4 million doses administered, Beam says the state's vaccine rollout is accelerating.
"As of yesterday, the CDC ranked Pennsylvania No. 2 in the nation for the number of doses administered per 100,000 residents over the past seven days."
The state also announced changes to its vaccine provider map, including symbols showing if a provider gets their supply from the federal or state government and how many first doses a provider received that week.