COVID Vaccine Inching Closer In PA: See Your Estimated Wait Time

PENNSYLVANIA — Good news on the coronavirus vaccine made headlines Tuesday, after the Food and Drug Administration reported that the Pfizer vaccine provides "strong protection" against the virus within about 10 days of the first dose. The data was released in briefing materials prepared for the agency's vaccine advisory group.

“This is what an A+ report card looks like for a vaccine,” Yale University Akiko Iwasaki told The New York Times in response to the data. Also Tuesday, Britain’s National Health Service administered the first shot of the vaccine to a 90-year-old woman.

So with the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine in Pennsylvania inching ever closer, many are wondering how long it will take for it to be available to them.

The answer? Well that depends on several factors, including your health condition, occupation and age.

To help people get a better picture of the timeline, The New York Times, the Surgo Foundation and Ariadne Labs have come up with a way to calculate the number of people who will need a vaccine in each state and county — and where you might fit in that line. The study stresses that the wait times are estimates and may ultimately be shorter.

For example, an average 40-year-old Pennsylvania resident with no professional or health-related special circumstances would be in line behind 268.7 million people across the United States, according to the study.

In Pennsylvania, that same person would be behind 10.6 million others who are at higher risk, in a state with a population of approximately 12.8 million, the study estimates.

However, those older will have a shorter wait time. For example, a 65-year-old Pennsylvania resident with no professional or health-related special circumstances would be in line behind 118.5 million people across the United States and 5 million in Pennsylvania, the study shows.

Those with professions that put them at higher risk, including health care workers, first responders and teachers, will have quicker access to the vaccine.

A 40-year-old Pennsylvanian who works as a teacher but has no COVID-related health risks, for example, would be in line behind 135.7 million people across the United States and 5.8 million in the state. A person of the same age and profession who has at least one COVID-realted health risk (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity or other immunocompromised conditions) would be behind 23 million in the country and 975,200 in Pennsylvania.

Health care workers of a certain age will not have to wait long for the vaccine, the study estimates.

For example, a 65-year-old health care worker in Pennsylvania would be behind "very few" for the vaccine, the study says.

No matter what place in line you end up in, Pennsylvania has been preparing to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine for months.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said it will roll out the vaccine in three phases, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first phase will focus on health care workers, first responders, critical workers, people over age 65 and residents who live in congregate care settings.

Phase two will prioritize critical populations who have not already been vaccinated before beginning to vaccinate the general population.

In phase three, once a sufficient supply of vaccines is available, the state will focus on vaccinating the entire population of Pennsylvania. The Department of Health said it does not intend to make vaccinations mandatory.

Locally, two Pennsylvania companies are working together on an orally-administered coronavirus vaccines and hope to have their vaccines available by early to mid 2021. Clinical evaluations in humans are slated to begin in February 2021.

US Specialty Formulations (USSF) CEO Dr. Kyle Flanigan and VaxForm President Dr. Garry Morefield joined Gov. Tom Wolf last week to describe the vaccines their companies are teaming up to develop and produce at an Allentown plant.

The vaccines will be offered in a liquid form and a capsule form. Morefield said the oral vaccines are anticipated to be equally as effective as injectable vaccines. MORE: Oral COVID-19 Vaccine Developed In PA May Be Ready In Early 2021

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