PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As the city prepares to begin the next phase of vaccinations, the Philadelphia Health Department acknowledged that the rules on who will be eligible can be confusing, but said it's confident those at the highest risk will get shots first.
Both the Health Department and Penn Medicine issued statements about the vaccine priority groups in response to a published report that suggested there was conflict between the city's guidelines and who were getting the vaccine at Penn.
But both said no such conflict exists.
Group 1a was people who live and work in nursing homes and health care workers, including hospital staff. Health Department spokesman Jim Garrow said he's confident Penn has been prioritizing those most at risk.
"We've left a little bit of room understanding that some people who don't perfectly fit into that group 1a may be getting vaccinated," Garrow said.
In a statement, Penn Medicine said it's been collaborating with the city on vaccinating its workforce and is now preparing to begin offering the shot to high-risk patients.
