PA Officials Give COVID Vaccine Update, Addressing Bumpy Rollout

PENNSYLVANIA — As delays and frustrations mount, state authorities have few concrete answers as to why Pennsylvania remains at the bottom of national rankings in efficiency of COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Officials addressed the predicament during a news briefing Friday, suggesting that reporting delays could account for some of the doses which statistics indicate are yet to be administered.

Just 55 percent of the doses received by the state have been administered, ranking it 43rd in the nation, according to a New York Times report analyzing jurisdictional efficiency in vaccine delivery.

The reason most commonly cited by officials is the universally acknowledged (and universally experienced) one: there is a nationwide vaccine shortage. Yet that doesn't explain why Pennsylvania trails so far behind a similarly-sized state like Virginia, which has managed to use 69 percent of its doses. Or West Virginia, which has used 84 percent.

Reporting delays

During a news briefing on Friday, a wide range of possible explanations were hinted at by Department of Health Senior Advisor Lindsey Mauldin. The only thing officials seem sure of is that there is up to a 72-hour delay in reporting in Pennsylvania.

"I do want to underscore the reporting," Mauldin said.

The state has previously said that every day, there are tens of thousands of doses "sitting at the manufacturing sites, in transit to providers, being checked in by providers, being prepared for delivery to people and/or actually being put into the arms of Pennsylvanians."

Holding back second doses

Officials said they did not have the exact total number of doses they have been allocated thus far. The New York Times report indicates that it's 2.2 million, while just 1.2 million of that has actually been administered.

The bulk of these missing doses are those being held and set aside for second doses. Many other states do not do this, and, in fact, both the Biden and Trump administrations have told states not to do this.

So is this what is impacting Pennsylvania's efficiency so dramatically?

"I can't say for sure, but that is something we're looking into," Mauldin said Friday.

Thus far, just 246,390 people have been fully vaccinated with their second dose. That means that just 24 percent of the vaccine the state has earmarked for second doses has been administered.

Meanwhile, 83 percent of first doses have been administered as of Friday morning, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Mauldin did not clarify why the state has taken this approach.

Demographics

Sheer numbers have certainly played a role. When the state expanded the 1A category to include all residents over 65, it suddenly brought nearly 4 million residents into that first priority group.

"I think as we compare states, it's important to look at the demographics of our states," she said. "Pennsylvania has an older population than some of our neighboring states. We also have a larger number of skilled nursing homes and long term care facilities that fit under 1A."

This is true: Pennsylvania has the eighth highest percentage of individuals over the age of 65 in the nation, according to U.S. Census data. There are some 2.2 million seniors statewide.

Officials have previously stated that expanding 1A was a mistake, and that they thought opening the priority group up would come with a corresponding increase in vaccine shipments.

No new shipments came, and registration systems statewide became overwhelmed with people who believed they would have access to a vaccine in a matter of days, not months. Again, this is a problem all states faced, but Pennsylvania might be facing it disproportionately due to its senior population.

It's worth noting, however, that the state with the largest senior population, Florida, has still administered 61 percent of the doses it has received, per the New York Times.

In some Pennsylvania counties, like Montgomery, wait lines are now 140,000 residents deep, and growing. Which feeds into another problem.

Centralized registration system

There are many questions about the efficiency of Pennsylvania's vaccine appointment registration system. As it currently stands, there is no centralized system, like in other states, that brings together pharmacies, hospitals, and state-run clinics in a single place.

This means that residents are thrown into something of a free for all, and are confused over whether they should be registering for multiple appointments in order to get on as many waitlists as possible. A centralized system would seem to eliminate these issues, so, why isn't Pennsylvania doing this?

"Our focus is on making sure these folks (in 1A) are vaccinated before moving into any enhancements," Mauldin said, but declined to provide any specific response to the unified system idea, adding later that "we are working to make our systems more accessible, to make information and education more accessible to the public."

Further, she suggested that such a system would not make any difference.

"We would deal with the same issues," she said. "Which is the limited supply of vaccine.

Spread too thin

Some of the state's largest counties, like Lehigh and Montgomery counties, are reporting that they received significantly fewer doses this week from the state than they did last week.

This is due to the increasing number of vaccine providers in the state.

"Pennsylvania receives a very limited allotment of vaccine each week," Barry Ciccocioppo, a press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, told Patch in an email. "As the number of providers grow, the limited allotment of vaccine is distributed among more providers."

All told, the state now has some 1,600 vaccine providers. Mauldin indicated that it was too soon to say if that number would ultimately be restricted to prevent the doses from being spread too thin.

"We are just looking to see what happens with all the supply that comes in, and will continue to think that through," she said.

Looking for lessons

Seeing where Pennsylvania falls on the efficiency list, it would appear they have much to learn from other states. But, again, no concrete examples were provided by officials Friday when pressed on the issue.

Two weeks ago, Gov. Tom Wolf noted that "there's no question that we need to do a better job. I hate being in the middle of the pack, I want to get to the top of the pack."

Wolf said they have a team that meets regularly with representatives from other states to analyze delivery systems being put in place elsewhere. He also has calls with all governors from all 50 states to discuss ongoing strategies.

When asked for examples of what they could learn from other states, Mauldin said "we always collaborate with our sister states to share best practices and will continue to do that."

Pennsylvanians can learn more about where they can get vaccinated and when they'll be eligible at the state Department of Health's vaccine website here.

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