Police, Grocery Store Workers Can Soon Receive Vaccine In PA

PENNSYLVANIA — After weeks of frustration and mounting delays, Pennsylvania has announced concrete steps to vaccinate some of the individuals in the next priority group, including police, firefighters, grocery store workers, and other essential frontline workers who are regularly exposed to the virus as a part of their daily work.

Once the state completes its vaccination of school employees, expected by the end of March, it will designate much of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine supply for these 1B individuals.

Because it's a single-dose vaccine, Johnson & Johnson makes vaccinating these populations easier.

"This allows us to use the flexibility of this vaccine in a very targeted way," Gov. Wolf said. "This allows folks to get back into the workplace, get back into schools faster."

As long as the vaccination of all school employees across the state goes as planned, vaccinations for these other frontline workers will begin on March 28. Starting March 28, the state expects to receive 200,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson per week, allowing them to expand eligible groups. The supply of Pfizer and Moderna is also expected to increase weekly.

That's also the date by which the state says they will have every single member of the 1A priority category scheduled for an appointment, which includes seniors who have been waiting for the vaccine for months.

Beyond police, firefighters, and grocery store workers, other individuals who will receive Johnson & Johnson doses starting on March 28 include agricultural workers, meat processing employees, and correctional facility staff.

The state has significantly advanced the estimated timeline for the vaccine, which they now hope every member of the general public will be available for by May 1. This comes following an announcement on the national vaccine timeline from President Biden on Thursday.

RELATED: Gov. Wolf Announces Vaccine Order To Expedite 1A Scheduling

Beyond just vaccinating frontline workers, other Johnson & Johnson doses will also be allocated to regional vaccination clinics.

For full information about getting a coronavirus vaccine in Pennsylvania, visit Patch's information hub.