Levine outlines possible vaccination plans

Appointments will be required when a COVID-19 vaccine eventually becomes available to more residents in coming months, state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said Monday.

Levine said she wants to avoid large groups of people waiting in line for long periods of time on foot or in vehicles. The vaccination process is inherently slowed because vaccine recipients must remain under observation for at least 15 minutes to make sure there is no problem, she said.

The state will set up mass clinics and also work with pharmacies and other health care providers to administer the vaccine, she said.

Due to a limited supply of the two vaccines now available from Pfizer and Moderna, state officials have implemented a phased distribution.

The first phase contains three tiers and is expected to take months to complete.

Known as 1A, the first tier is still underway and primarily for health care personnel likely to have direct exposure to infected patients or infectious materials and residents and health care employees in long-term care facilities.

Plans are still under development for 1B, which would vaccinate police and other emergency responders, critical workers in essential businesses who cannot work remotely or maintain social distancing and those 75 and older, Levine said. Some examples of essential workers in this group are employees in child care facilities, prisons, grocery stores, the U.S. Postal Service and transit.

The third — 1C — covers those 65 to 74 or those younger than that with high-risk medical conditions in addition to workers in various industries, such as information technology, banking and food service.

Residents ineligible in these tiers must wait until the second phase.

The pace of vaccination will hinge mainly on the quantity of currently approved vaccines manufactured and allotted to the state and whether additional vaccines are authorized by the federal government, Levine said.

“The more vaccines that are safe and effective that they roll out, the faster that will go,” she said.

She stressed the quantity and delivery schedule of vaccines to the state vary from week to week.

This week, for example, the state is slated to receive 166,725 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 80,000 doses of the Moderna one.

Of that, 97,500 doses are for health care personnel who received their first dose three weeks ago and are now due for the required second one, she said.

“We know it is hard to ask people to be patient as we take on this unprecedented task, but patience is exactly what we need,” Levine said.

Because many must wait months, Levine said adherence to mitigation measures is “more important than ever,” including avoiding social gatherings, mask wearing and honoring a stay-at-home advisory she said is still in place.

“We cannot let our guard down. We must continue to follow and to demonstrate our personal and collective responsibility to each other to prevent the spread of this virus,” Levine said.

Levine said some federal estimates were “higher than they should have been” on the number of vaccinations that would occur in 2020.

State officials also are awaiting the receipt of federal funding from the latest approved stimulus package for vaccine distribution and administration, she said.

That funding will be used to set up mass vaccination clinics and contract with health care workers to administer the vaccine, she said.

Local pharmacies also will be involved as the 1B and 1C phases are rolled out for priority groups and in the second phase for the general public, she said, describing the ongoing organization as a “significant challenge.”

Levine said she can’t provide an estimated date for 1B to launch but maintained the state is not “behind in any way” in executing its distribution.

Information on how, when and where residents can access the vaccine in different phases will be publicly announced as details are finalized, she said.

In the interim, she advised residents to “protect themselves as much as possible” and keep in contact with their doctor if they have questions or concerns.

While many are eagerly awaiting the vaccine, Levine said she has heard some health care workers — she did not have a number — chose not to receive it, including ones in nursing homes.

She reiterated the vaccines are “safe and effective” and have gone through “very rigorous” testing and extensive review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“It will be critically important for people to sign up to get the vaccine and get their second dose of these vaccines so that we can eventually stop the spread and get past COVID-19,” she said.

However, more research is needed to ensure the vaccines are safe and effective for infants, children and teens, the state said.

The Pfizer vaccine is not yet approved for children under 16, and the Moderna one is only permitted for those 18 and older, the state said.

Levine noted 3,929 new confirmed coronavirus cases statewide last week involved residents 5 to 18 years old. In total, there were 52,917 cases in this age group throughout the pandemic.

“This again underscores the need for all of us to do our part to stop the spread,” she said, reminding parents, caregivers and school districts that anyone over 13 can now use the state’s COVID alert mobile app accessible at health.pa.gov to help with contact tracing.

With all the unknowns, Levine said has no way of estimating when remaining restrictions will be lifted or maskless crowds at events will be permitted again.

“It’s very hard to predict the future, but I do remain positive and optimistic,” she said.