PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — COVID-19 vaccine providers in Pennsylvania are scrambling get everyone who is eligible for a shot scheduled. The state's deadline to make sure everyone is signed up, March 31, is days away.
Pennsylvania announced the deadline earlier this month, saying not everyone on waiting lists needs to have a shot by the end of March, but they do need to be given an appointment, no matter how far out those appointments had to be scheduled.
Chester County Health Director Jeanne Franklin says they've rolled out a new scheduling system, and emails have gone out to the appocximately 88,000 people currently on their waiting list.
"We will open up about 12 weeks' worth of appointments. As long as our inventory stays the same, that is what we can support," Franklin said.
She says everyone's place in line will be preserved. Anyone without email can call the health department at 610-344-6225. And she says there is an opt-out button on the email for anyone who may have gotten the vaccine somewhere else, so they hope that pares down the list.
Montgomery County says it has about 74,000 people on its list.
Other providers say they expect to schedule well into May, but they expect a lot of cancelations since there is no central registration and most people signed up everywhere.
