In Pennsylvania, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan is currently in Phase 1A, which prioritizes long-term care facility residents, healthcare workers, people exposed to infectious material among, people aged 65 and older and people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk conditions. However, the state aims to begin Phase 1B soon.
Recently, during a Lancaster County Commissioners meeting, it was announced a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the former Bon-Ton in Park City Mall will be up for a vote. Previously, Lancaster County Commissioners were aiming to create a mass vaccination site, but there were limitations due to the lack of COVID-19 vaccine doses available.
The proposal included that the vaccination site would open on March 14 and likely close June 30 with hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson would be administered there. It is estimated that the vaccination site would be able to vaccinate 6,000 people per day. The contract would be between Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health and Lancaster County commissioners.
The vaccination site is already beginning the hiring process and some residents of Lancaster County have even offered to volunteer their time there. This site would be in addition to providers administering the vaccine, such as Lancaster Health Center, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, PennState Health, UPMC and WellSpan Health, amongst locations at pharmacies and more.
Professor at Elizabethtown College Dr. Fletcher McClellan recently attended the meeting of a service group that he belongs to with approximately 15 attendees. Many of the attendees qualified under Phase 1A of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan.
“Everybody reported difficulty getting vaccines,” McClellan said.
While some attendees had been able to get their first dosage of the vaccine, McClellan noted how others, including himself, were not successful in getting an appointment for the vaccine.
“Currently, the Pennsylvania Department of Education is awaiting confirmation on the definition of ‘Education Workers’ outlined in Phase 1B,” Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director for Government, Corporate and Board Relations Ryan Riley said. According to Riley, they expect to know by the end of February.
As the county awaits a vote on the vaccination site, approximately 30,000 residents have been vaccinated and received their first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. For more information on the vaccine rollout plan in Lancaster County, see here: https://vaccinatelancaster.org/.
Regarding the vaccine rollout process in Lancaster County, Riley said, “Lancaster County has a diverse population of over 500,000, the sixth largest county in Pennsylvania. The communication from the larger health systems has been excellent, and they are anxious to get more vaccines to people throughout Lancaster.”
In Pennsylvania, rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine has been an issue, and the state ranks in the high thirties to low forties in regard to highest number of residents vaccinated to lowest number of residents vaccinated. According to the AP, 1.9 percent of 12.8 million Pennsylvania residents are fully vaccinated. In Maryland, the vaccine rollout plan is in Phase 1C, whereas Pennsylvania remains in 1A.
Pennsylvania’s plan to administer the COVID-19 vaccine has prompted criticisms from residents, as well as healthcare professionals. Issues have arisen with PrepMod, an app that was available for free under a contract with the state, and used by the city of Allentown; however, the app has issues in that it overbooks clinics and sends patients incorrect reminders, amongst other problems.
“The Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Health have been in consistent contact and have shared all relevant updates and information accordingly. There is undoubtedly a significant amount of concern regarding the vaccine rollout,” Riley said.
He also noted that the College will update the campus community as updates are provided by the state government.
Regardless of one’s vaccination status, residents of Pennsylvania should download the COVID Alert PA App, which is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. For more information on symptom tracking, exposure alerts in the app or privacy, see here: https://www.pa.gov/covid/covid-alert-pa/. Vaccinated individuals should also continue to wear a mask and social distance, as well as follow other COVID-19 guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
