PA Officials Address COVID-19 Vaccination Timeline

PENNSYLVANIA — A new COVID-19 vaccine tracking tool has been launched, and hopes remain that the general public could have access to the vaccine by the summer, Pennsylvania officials said during an update Tuesday afternoon.

The briefing, featuring the Department of Health's senior adviser, Lindsey Mauldin, comes as leaders face increased scrutiny over the efficiency with which Pennsylvania is administering doses of the vaccine.

Timeline

Officials have no updated estimate as to when the state may be ready to move into the 1B phase, though they reiterated hopes previously expressed by Gov. Tom Wolf that the vaccine could be available to the general public by spring or summer.

"It's a really great question," Mauldin said when pressed on a timeline Tuesday. "And something we're all thinking about. But our focus is on vaccinating the 1A category at this time."

The state needs 8 million doses to vaccinate the roughly 4 million Pennsylvanians in 1A. Thus far, the state has received about 2.4 million, and shipments depend on the federal government.

YourTurn tool launched

The state is launching a new tool called "YourTurn" to help residents find where they stand in the queue waiting for the vaccine.

Residents under 65 can input their information to see if they are eligible. If they are eligible, they'll be directed to vaccination appointment registration link. If they don't, they'll be given more information on when they'll become eligible, based on the information they provided.

The YourTurn tool is online here.

Allocations

Concerns remain regarding the vaccine distribution process, as several of the state's largest counties have reported receiving significantly fewer doses over the past weeks. This is due to an expanded number of providers, stretching the available supply to more than 1,600 locations statewide. On Tuesday, state officials said it was an issue they were aware of, but provided no specifics as to how they're addressing it.

"We are working to ensure that it's (distribution) equitable," Mauldin said.

Appointment system

The state is still not considering a centralized registration system for vaccine appointments at this time, despite several other states using one.

"The centralized system would not help with the limited supply we're dealing with," Mauldin said.

But she declined to address concerns over the confusion some residents have experienced in attempting to register for a vaccine through multiple different providers.

Background

A total of 1,012,153 partial vaccinations and 286,604 full vaccinations had been administered statewide as of Tuesday morning.

That's less than two-thirds of what the state has received, and reports indicate the state is among the worst in the nation in the percentage of received doses it has administered. It's not clear exactly why that is, though there are several possibilities.

The state has improved that percentage in the last week, from 55 percent to 63 percent, according to the New York Times. Compared to other states, though, it still ranks 46th overall.

Earlier Tuesday, Wolf announced the formation of a COVID-19 Vaccine Joint Task Force, composed of members from each legislative caucus. Task force members will represent their caucus's point of view and work to streamline conversations to focus and drive issues of importance, according to an announcement from the governor's office.

A video of the briefing is included below: