Delaware County To Get Vaccine Doses From Federal Government

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — After Delaware County and surrounding counties said they are not getting their fair share of coronavirus vaccine doses from the state, the federal government is stepping in.

During a news conference Thursday, local, state, and federal representatives discussed the disparities in vaccine allotment in Delaware County compared to other areas of the state and called on Gov. Tom Wolf and the Department of Health to address the issues creating the disparity.

But Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon said the federal government will be providing a resource for residents to get vaccinated.

Scanlon, who represents Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional district in Washington, said ChesPenn Health Services, a federally qualified health center, will get doses straight from the federal government.

She said ChesPenn will be getting hundreds, if not thousands, of additional vaccine doses from the government to boost inoculation in the region. There is no word on when ChesPenn will be getting then providing vaccine doses.

Additionally, Scanlon said plans are underway to set up a community vaccination site if doses can be allotted from FEMA as opposed to the state.

Scanlon said Delaware County cannot accept being "shortchanged" on vaccine doses.

"It's been a really frustrating time for all of our constituents," she said. "We've got this light at the tunnel with three vaccines and we just haven't been able to get enough in this area."

And being "shortchanged" was the main topic of the news conference that included the Delaware County Council and multiple state representatives in the house and senate

Delaware County — along with Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester counties — earlier this week issued a letter to the state regarding the disparities in vaccine allocations to the counties.

The letter came on the heels of news that these counties were getting fewer doses than other areas of the state. According to Pennsylvania Department of Health data, those four suburban counties rank low on a list of vaccine doses received per 100,000 people in Pennsylvania.

Delaware County, as of March 2, was getting 9,113 doses per 100,000 residents.

Officials Thursday said they have not received communication from the state following the letter.

State Rep. Leanne Kreuger said Delaware County is the fourth most populated county in Pennsylvania but is 46th when measured by rank of doses delivered by 100,000 residents. She noted Philadelphia gets its vaccines from the federal government, not the state.

"It is time for the department of health to hold up their end of the bargain," she said.

State Sen. Anthony Williams said this is the first time in his 20-year career he can recall the federal, state, and local delegation, both Democrat and Republican, coming together on one issue.

State Rep. Craig Williams said the delegation cares more about being from Delaware County than being Republicans or Democrats.

The group of representatives is calling on the state to address three main points:

1. Create a publicly available chart showing the amount of vaccine from all sources, including federal partnerships, that has been delivered to each county each month; a description of the "COVID-19 County Index" that the PA Department of Health is currently using to allocate doses to each county; and how the Index has been applied to each County since the Index came into use in late January.
2. Explain how and when counties that are lagging in vaccine delivery will receive additional vaccine.
3. Explain how vaccine providers will be monitored going forward to ensure that no vaccine provider moves on to vaccinate 1B individuals (beyond the teachers and educational support personnel) until all counties in the Commonwealth have received sufficient vaccine to vaccinate their 1A population.

State officials shared stories of constituents' woeful attempts at making vaccine appointments, with Kane saying one constituent likened trying to find a vaccine to having a full-time job.

State Rep. Jennifer O'Mara said one of her constituents who is a breast cancer survivor cannot find a vaccine provider.

State Rep. Chris Quinn called the state's rollout of the vaccine in Delaware County "disorganized, chaotic, and inequitable."

"Just stop making excuses, just fix it," he said in reference to the state Department of Health.

"Please get Delaware County the vaccines we deserve," State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti said.