Pennsylvania’s Gov. Tom Wolf, at age 72, clearly falls into the state’s Phase 1A eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccines.
But Wolf said Tuesday he hasn’t received the vaccines.
“I don’t want to be seen as butting in line,” Wolf said.
Wolf has urged Pennsylvanians to get the vaccine when it’s their turn.
Phase 1A currently includes individuals 65 and older, health care professionals and employees, and individuals 16 to 64 with a high-risk condition. Wolf said his administration expects to make an announcement Wednesday about teachers in Pennsylvania being added to the list of individuals who are eligible for shots in Phase 1A.
Wolf said he was on a call with the White House on Tuesday morning. Wolf said the Biden administration explained that by the first week of April, 20 to 22 million doses of the vaccine a week are expected to be available to get into Americans’ arms, with higher amounts being shipped out in the weeks that follow.
“By then, I think it will be easier to say it’s time” to get vaccinated, Wolf said. “I don’t want to be seen as jumping in front of the line.”
The governor tested positive for COVID-19 in early December and announced two days after receiving positive test results, that he tested negative.
In January, House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre County, sent a letter to Wolf and then-state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine asking for statewide elected officials, lawmakers and appointed state officials to be moved to the end of the line when the general public becomes eligible for vaccines in Phase 2 unless, like Wolf, they meet one of the other underlying criteria for eligibility in a higher phase.
Currently, government officials are listed in Phase 1C, along with at-risk Pennsylvanians with pre-existing condition.
“We should not be advanced in line to receive this life-saving vaccine at a time when supplies remain limited,” Benninghoff said. “Regardless of supply, we should not be advanced before the general public and certainly should not be able to receive this vaccine at the same time as at-risk populations.”
Benninghoff received no response to his letter, according to his spokesman, Jason Gottesman.
Wolf said when he does get the vaccine, the public will know it. He plans to get his shot in the arm at a public event.
Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.