People 75 and older in Allegheny County will have to wait longer to receive their macabre vaccines, as county officials await guidance from the federal government.
“We have received a lot of calls and emails from people wanting to know when it will be their turn to get vaccinated and how they will know,” Allegheny County executive Rich Fitzgerald said on Wednesday. “I wish we could answer that. There is a great deal of information still unknown ”.
State and city officials have received little information from federal agencies, they said, which may be slowing the vaccination process.
The state’s vaccine panel shows that some 30,000 vaccines have been distributed in Allegheny County, but Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen said this was a “significantly underestimated estimate”.
The county as a whole has received about 115,000 doses since mid-December, and most are being distributed across the county’s health systems, she said.
The health department administered 2,266 vaccines and plans to distribute the remainder of its first distribution by Wednesday, said Bogen. The health department plans to extend the opening hours of its vaccination post in Monroeville and has already requested another dose allocation from the federal government.
None of these figures include the distribution of vaccines in long-term care facilities, which is being administered by a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens. Bogen said 42 county long-term care facilities received vaccines, but the number of vaccines administered through the program has not been shared at the county level.
“I know people are still frustrated with what looks like a very slow process,” said Bogen. “There is a lot of information that we don’t know about and aspects of distribution – like the distribution of vaccines from the federal government to Pennsylvania – that are not under our control.”
The state is notified weekly about how many doses they will receive from the federal government and then allocates the doses to each municipality. As more vaccine suppliers come on board, Bogen said, fewer doses each will receive until the state receives more or increases vaccine manufacturing.
The county has received an average of about 23,000 doses per week for the past five weeks, she said.
Focus still on health professionals
Bogen said the county is still busy with vaccinating people in Phase 1A of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, including health professionals and residents and staff at long-term care facilities. Although some states have already started Phase 1B – which includes people over 75 and grocery workers – officials said Allegheny County is likely to spend more time in 1A, due to the number of health workers in the region.
“Our region in particular has a larger than average number of people who fall into Category 1A, because we have many health professionals in our county,” said Fitzgerald. “We are asking for your patience.”
Fitzgerald added that the amount of vaccination allocated to each county each week fluctuates, which also increases the time it will take to get through the phases.
Bogen acknowledged the lack of information for many frontline workers and members of the general population regarding the distribution of vaccines. She echoed the sentiments of Pennsylvania’s health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, who said repeatedly that the state is at the mercy of the federal government on the timing and quantity of vaccines.
“Knowing when more vaccine is peaking would be very helpful,” said Bogen.
When it’s 75 years old
When the county moves to Phase 1B, Bogen asks providers to prioritize immunizing residents aged 75 or older, along with those aged 65 and older who have chronic health risks. When the vaccine supply increases, doses will be available at community pharmacies, at instant events and mass vaccination sites.
“All of this is being planned, but the timing depends on the availability of the vaccine, so we still don’t have a perfect schedule for you,” said Bogen.
Still, there have been many reports in the county of vaccine providers administering doses to people outside the first priority group. Bogen asked providers to contact the health department if they had additional doses of vaccine and did not know how to access more people in 1A.
Fitzgerald encouraged county residents to sign up for Allegheny Alerts, noting a new subscription option that focuses specifically on vaccine information.
Meanwhile, Bogen said she remains concerned about the post-holiday increase in obscene cases, deaths and hospitalizations. The county on Wednesday reported 74 new deaths – 73 of which occurred in December, Bogen said, due to delays in the state’s electronic death notification system.
December was the deadliest pandemic month in the county, with a total of 509 deaths.
Teghan Simonton is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Teghan at 724-226-4680, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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Allegheny | Coronavirus | Local