250K More Vaccines Coming To PA This Week: Who Will Get Them

HARRISBURG, PA — The effort to vaccinate residents across Pennsylvania for coronavirus will "move into high gear" in the new year, Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said during the first coronavirus briefing of 2021.

As of Monday morning, 135,044 people in Pennsylvania have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, Levine said. Additionally, CVS and Walgreens have begun vaccinations at 115 skilled nursing facilities across the state.

The state continues to vaccinate those eligible in Phase 1A of its plan, which covers health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities.

The state expects to receive 166,725 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week, Levine said. Of those, 97,500 are the second dose for health care personnel who got their first dose three weeks ago.

Of the Pfizer doses coming this week, 30,225 will be used to vaccinate health care personnel and 39,000 will be used at skilled nursing facilities. Plus, Pennsylvania is slated to receive 80,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week, Levine said.

While expressing optimism about the vaccine program in Pennsylvania, Levine cautioned residents to be patient, noting it will still be several months before the general public can be inoculated.

"We know it is hard to ask people to be patient as we take on this unprecedented task, but patience is just what we need," Levine said.

"As we continue through the vaccination process, it will still take months before enough is available to immunize the general public," she said.

She continued to implore Pennsylvanians to follow the recommended mitigation protocols, including avoiding social gatherings and wearing a mask. "We cannot let our guard down," she said.

She spoke as several of the strictest mitigation measures imposed by Gov. Tom Wolf in mid-December expired. Those restrictions, including a ban on indoor dining, were lifted Monday. All mitigation orders put in place before Dec. 12 remain in place.

As of Monday morning, there are 5,529 hospitalized for COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. Of those, 1,149 are in the intensive care unit and 674 are on a ventilator.

Since the onset of the pandemic, there have been 16,361 coronavirus deaths in Pennsylvania and 665,097 cases.