Pa. health official: Still no timeline for next phase of covid vaccination process

Megan Guza, The Tribune-Review, Greensburg
·2 min read

Feb. 26—There remains no estimate on when Pennsylvania will move to the next phase of its vaccination plan, which includes a slew of essential workers as well as first responders and teachers, a health official said Friday.

"I don't think we're putting out estimates at this point," Health Department Senior Adviser Lindsey Mauldin said.

Mauldin also backed away from a firm timeline for when the whole of the state's population could be vaccinated.

"I think we are still shooting for everyone by the summer," she said. "We've seen delays just because of the weather and because of some of these allocation issues. So again, I think we have to be realistic and look to where we are at this time of year."

Pennsylvania remains in Phase 1A of its vaccination plan, which includes most health care workers, long-term care residents, anyone over the age of 65 and those aged 16 to 64 with certain health conditions.

The state so far has allocated 3.17 million doses of the vaccine and, statewide, providers have administered 2.23 million doses of the vaccine. Just over 649,000 people are fully vaccinated, meaning they've received both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

The Department of Health also updated its quarantine guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated to fall in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"As the CDC continues to update guidance for individuals who are fully vaccinated, we will follow their lead," said Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam. "I want to stress, though, that regardless of vaccination status, individuals who are showing new or unexplained symptoms of covid-19 still need to isolate and be tested for covid-19."

People who are exposed to the virus will not need to quarantine so long as they are fully vaccinated, within three months of receiving the final dose and have remained asymptomatic.

Health officials stressed that this does not mean the vaccine is only effective for three months, but rather it means that "it is unclear how long immunity from vaccine will last," and the CDC is using early knowledge about immunity to update its quarantine guidance.

Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, mguza@triblive.com or via Twitter .