Pa. officials: COVID-19 vaccine supply chain problems make it difficult to keep up with demand
WGAL News 8 coronavirus coverage
WGAL News 8 coronavirus coverage
WGAL News 8 coronavirus coverage
How much COVID-19 vaccine does Pennsylvania have?
It’s a question a lot of people are asking.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Pennsylvania has administered less than half of the 1.3 million doses it has received.
But the state Department of Health just expanded the list of people eligible for the vaccine to include people over the age of 65 and people ages 16 to 64 with serious medical conditions.
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Director Randy Padfield said Thursday during a virtual town hall that the big obstacle right now is how many doses the state gets from the federal government each week.
“We are severely constrained by the amount of vaccine that we are receiving. So, people ask questions of why aren’t we doing certain things. Why aren't we doing mass vaccination clinics? They are in the plans in the future, but right now, the quantity of vaccine that we're receiving does not really support being able to do very large vaccination events,” Padfield said.
He said the state ranks 33rd in the country for vaccines administered per capita but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
“When you take a look at the amount of vaccine that’s been administered – just total doses administered – we rank fifth out of the 50 states,” he said.
Health officials said if they have to ration the supply of vaccine from the federal government, that will ultimately trickle down to counties, hospitals, pharmacies and other establishments.
Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 response director acknowledged the state should do better at communicating to people about when and how they can get the vaccine.
"We will certainly be working on that. We understand that folks want clear guidance on the vaccine," Dr. Wendy Braund said.
Officials said they also have to make sure there is enough vaccine for people to be able to get their second dose.