Nationwide 4,22,756 people have been vaccinated with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, short of the 20 million goal the federal government had hoped to vaccinate by the end of December 2020. Meantime, 13,071,925 doses of the vaccines have been distributed nationwide according to the CDC.
"I really think that some of the estimates from the federal government especially estimates during the holidays were higher than they should have been," said Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine who added now that the holidays are over she expects vaccination efforts will move into high gear in the new year. "I think it was always going to be a challenge during those 2-3 weeks to be able to administer the vaccines that were sent to us."
Track vaccination numbers nationwide here.
Meantime, Levine said the number of vaccine dosages the state receives from the federal government continues to fluctuate as well as the delivery dates which "does make planning challenging but it also increases the amount of time it takes to administer the vaccine."
The CDC reflects that a total of 155,983 people have been vaccinated in Pennsylvania with a total of 489,850 doses distributed to the state so far.
"Remember there's also a difference between what they (the federal government) think they're going to be able to allocate to us with what their preparations are and how much vaccine we actually, we actually get," she said.
Pennsylvania is currently focused on vaccinating frontline healthcare workers as the federal government is focused on vaccinating nursing homes through a partnership with CVS and Walgreens.
Vaccinating the Public
As the vaccine begins to be rolled out to the public, including those 75 and above, Levine said the state will likely start mass vaccination clinics that will operate by appointment in order to avoid crowds and lines. Before those clinics can begin, however, she said the state needs funding that she hopes will come from the COVID-19 relief bill recently signed into law by the federal government.
"We're going to need to start mass vaccination clinics. We're going to need that money to actually contract with health care workers to be able to do that," said Levine.
The general public is not expected to receive the vaccine until spring or summer based on dosage availability. Dr. Levine urges everyone to keep in contact with their doctors and stay in tune with Dept. of Health notifications regarding any future plans for vaccination clinics.
"We are working on those plans right now. So, I don't have specific details for you," said Dr. Levine later adding "as soon as we have information about when that will start and how it will start and when it will start we will provide you and everyone else with that information."
Levine noted that more vaccines could come on the market in 2021 as more companies gain approval through the FDA, aiding in improving dosage counts across the state.
"There are many variables that will determine how fast the vaccination program goes. The biggest one is how much vaccine we get," said Levine.
Vaccinating Nursing Homes & Long Term Care Facilities
The federal government has launched a partnership with CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate skilled nursing home facilities.
Per the CDC, 282,740 people in long term care programs have been vaccinated nationwide with 2,217,025 doses distributed.
In Pennsylvania, 115 facilities have received the vaccine. However, the number of people vaccinated in those facilities at this time is still unknown.
"We're actually waiting on the report from the federal partnership program on exactly how many people were vaccinated at these clinics," said Levine.
Vaccinating EMS and Other Health Care Providers
Dr. Levine ordered vaccine providers to reserve 10% of doses for health providers such as EMS. Hospitals and other providers must have plans in place by January 6 to allow those health care workers to sign up to get a vaccine. Some hospitals have already begun vaccinating EMS workers ahead of when the order goes into effect.