COVID-19 Vaccine In Pennsylvania: When Will You Get It?
On Friday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine rolled out the most recent version of the state's coronavirus vaccine plan. Now in its fourth version, the plan aims to get every Pennsylvanian age 16 and older vaccinated against COVID-19.
To date, the virus has infected more than 733,000 people in Pennsylvania and killed 18,080, as of Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Wolf and Levine once again appealed to Pennsylvanians to get the vaccine once they are able to do so.
"We need to remain patient as vaccine distribution expands and the Department of Health works to keep everyone informed of the status of vaccine," Wolf said. "It will take time, but a future without COVID-19 is possible and I thank all Pennsylvanians for joining me in fighting for that future."
Here is a look at who has been vaccinated, when you'll be eligible, how you'll get the shot and other facts you need to know about the coronavirus vaccine in Pennsylvania.
Who's Already Vaccinated?
On Tuesday, Levine said that vaccines have been given to 311,477 people in Pennsylvania so far. Of those, 251,133 had received their first dose of the vaccine, which requires two shots three weeks apart, and 30,172 had received both doses and are considered fully vaccinated.
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County led the state Monday with 28,960 partial vaccinations and 3,057 full vaccinations administered. But, after that, the counties that have administered the most shots are in southeast Pennsylvania, including Montgomery (16,924 partial vaccinations), Lehigh (14,016), Bucks (10,486), Lancaster (10,232) and Northampton (9,658). Philadelphia County has its own program and is largely not included in the state numbers.
The PA Vaccine Plan
Currently, Pennsylvania remains in the first phase of a four-phase vaccine delivery plan. The four phases determine who may receive a vaccination. They are broken down as follows:
Phase 1A. In the current phase, vaccines are being given to residents of long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, and healthcare workers. The second group includes doctors and nurses, dentists and pharmacists all the way to workers required to handle medical waste.
Phase 1B. The plan's next phase will expand vaccine access to everyone 75 and older, first responders, food and agriculture workers, postal workers, nursery employees, grocery store employees, transit workers and others in "essential" roles. The most recent changes to the state plan dramatically increased the number of people included in this phase.
Phase 1C. The third phase expands access to shots to everyone 65 and older, as well as a broader range of essential workers. This includes transportation, water service, food service, banking, media, government and legal system workers. This phase also opens up access to people from 16-64 with health conditions that make them at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19.
Phase 2. In the plan's final phase, vaccinations are open to everyone 16 and older, provided they do not have medical issues that make vaccines riskier.
So, When Is My Turn?
Currently, state officials say they expect to move into Phase 1B of the plan some time in February. There is not yet any official word on how and when people in that phase can sign up for a shot. After that, numerous factors will impact how quickly the rest of the plan rolls out. Officials have said they hope to have every vaccinated by the summer.
Where Will I Get The Vaccine?
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has provided an interactive map of COVID-19 vaccination locations. According to the map, some of those locations already have received doses of the vaccine and some have not. Others are expected to come online as the rollout reaches a wider and wider swath of the public.
Currently, the Federal Pharmacy Partnership has vaccination clinics at 159 skilled nursing facilities. Once Phase 1B starts, there is expected to be a mix of regional vaccination sites and more localized employer-based clinics for essential workers and others in the group. By the time the largest, latest groups are eligible, the vaccine is expected to be available at pharmacies, doctor's offices and the like.
How Will I Be Contacted?
State and local officials continue to work on plans to reach people in the future groups, which all will be much larger than the group in Phase 1A. Teachers and other government employees, like many first responders, likely will be notified through their employers. Details likely will differ by county, but Levine has said that community groups and local government departments probably will be the ones reaching out to eligible Pennsylvanians.
Give Feedback
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has created an online comment form to allow groups and individuals to weigh in on the current vaccine plan.
What To Expect
Dr. Rakesh R. Shah, a cardiologist at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, recently got the COVID-19 vaccination shot. On social media, he posted an in-depth walk-through video to show people what they can expect when it's their turn to get the vaccine.
He explains a bit about what the vaccine is and how it works before filling out the required forms, having his temperature taken, scheduling an appointment for his second dose, uneventfully getting the shot, then being taken to an observation area, where he'll wait for 15 minutes to make sure there is no reaction to the shot.
This article originally appeared on the Warminster Patch
