PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania Department of Health is directing vaccine providers to make sure every person who is currently eligible for the vaccine is scheduled for an appointment by the end of the month.
Individuals who are currently eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine are people in the 1a phase, including essential workers, health care professionals, teachers and support staff, long-term care facility residents, adults 65 and older, and people with high-risk health conditions.
Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam is issuing the order, which says everyone in Pennsylvania's 1a phase will be scheduled for an appointment by March 31 — scheduled, not administered, meaning the appointments could be in April.
Overall, the plan intends to:
• Secure appointments for all remaining 1a Pennsylvanians by the end of March
• Create and support regional vaccine sites with county partners
• Prioritize certain essential frontline workers
The Johnson & Johnson allocation, which is currently being directed to teachers, school staff, and child care workers, will be targeted to other essential workers, like agriculture and grocery store workers, in early April.
It's been difficult for providers to schedule anything beyond one week because allocations have fluctuated. The Health Department said it is narrowing the provider list and has identified the highest-volume providers. It will direct vaccine doses to those providers.
The department said whatever each provider gets for the week of March 22 is what they can expect to get for the next four weeks.
The department said it is also working on plans to support regional vaccination sites. In southeastern Pennsylvania, it's likely those will be through county health departments.
Part of the plan reads: "Through these regional vaccination clinics, we will achieve greater access for seniors who have been struggling to find available doses and a more equitable distribution by allowing communities to direct doses to their most vulnerable residents."
According to Montgomery County's website, there are an estimated 137,000 people in Phase 1a who are eligible and waiting. The county is currently scheduling people who signed up on their list on Jan. 14.
Gov. Tom Wolf said he is confident as vaccine supply continues to increase, available appointments will also increase.
"I'm very confident that the supply is moving and I'm very confident that the capacity of our logistical team, the pharmacies, the sites, that we have the capacity as the supply increases. We're ready," he added.
