Pittsburgh PA Launches New Tool To Determine Vaccine Eligibility; Allegheny County Reports 405 New COVID-19 Cases

Pittsburgh PA

11 February, 2021

1:40 PM

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By PublicSource reporters, Public Source 2021-02-09 The Pennsylvania Department of Health launched a new tool called Your Turn to help better communicate to Pennsylvanians when it is their turn to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said the tool is primarily for those younger than the age of 65 who are unsure of when they are eligible to get the vaccine. "When it is your turn," Beam said, "we will direct you on how to find a vaccine provider. If it is not your turn yet, you will be able to enter contact information to receive updates about vaccine distribution in Pennsylvania and for us to let you know when it is your turn to get vaccinated." "When it is your turn," Beam said, "we will direct you on how to find a vaccine provider. If it is not your turn yet, you will be able to enter contact information to receive updates about vaccine distribution in Pennsylvania and for us to let you know when it is your turn to get vaccinated." This tool will replace the current eligibility quiz on the state website. People can also call 877-PA-HEALTH to speak with a representative and determine their eligibility. Through Feb. 8, there have been 1,352,248 vaccine doses administered in Pennsylvania.There are 1,049,609 people who have received one dose of the vaccine and 302,639 people who have received both doses of the vaccine. The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 4,088 new COVID-19 cases and 149 new deaths Tuesday, bringing the totals since the start of the pandemic to 876,913 cases and 22,620 deaths. Nursing and personal care home residents and employees represent about 8.8% of the state's cases and about 52% of the state's deaths. Healthcare workers represent about 2.7% of the state's cases. The Allegheny County Health Department reported 405 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths Tuesday. The new cases — from positive tests dated Nov. 19 to Feb. 8 — come from individuals 10 months old to 99 years old, with a median age of 40. Among the newly reported deaths, dated Feb. 2 and Feb. 5, one person was in their 80s and one person was in their 90s. Both of the deaths were associated with long-term care facilities. To date, the Allegheny County Health Department has reported 71,938 cases, 1,529 deaths from the virus and 4,607 past and present hospitalizations. COVID task force of legislators The Wolf Administration announced Tuesday that it is establishing a joint task force with members from the General Assembly who can share vaccine information and communicate issues and solutions in a more streamlined process. Gov. Tom Wolf said coordination between the General Assembly and the state is important to better represent community voices and needs. "We have a good working relationship with our legislators, and we know they are the eyes, ears, and voices for Pennsylvanians," Wolf said in the press release. "The feedback they receive from their local communities is extremely important, particularly as the commonwealth continues to improve upon this once-in-a-generation vaccine rollout. Working with leaders from each caucus in the General Assembly, we are creating a task force to ensure collaboration and strengthen communications about the state's vaccine plan." According to the press release, the task force members will represent their caucus's point-of-view in the General Assembly and will work with the Wolf administration to better communicate with the state regarding issues about COVID-19. DOH in a Friday press briefing sought to ensure Pennsylvanians that there is an adequate and continuous supply of vaccines being delivered to counties across the state. Dr. John Kelly, a physician at Penn Medicine, vouched for the effectiveness of the vaccine, urging the eligible residents to obtain their doses as quickly as possible. "Vaccines work," Kelly said during the briefing. "I received my vaccine a couple of weeks ago without having any major difficulties, but it is imperative that once you receive your first dose, you immediately schedule for your second dose to make sure you receive the adequate protection and benefits." Some concerns were raised about how quickly vaccines were being administered and if the essential workers in the next phase of eligible recipients, 1B, would be able to secure a spot on a waiting list. "Our focus at this time is to really get through 1A," said Department of Health Senior Advisor Lindsey Mauldin, "and make sure that our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians are being served. That is our focus at this time." The department expects federal changes in vaccine distribution to increase the vaccination rate in the state, where less than a third of the doses needed to get past Phase 1A have been administered. On Wednesday, Mauldin touted the move by President Joe Biden's administration to begin directly distributing vaccine doses to retail pharmacies starting next week. Previously, states had to pull from their allotted vaccines to supply pharmacies, but soon, the federal government will directly distribute vaccines to pharmacies in addition to regular vaccine allotments to states. Pennsylvania has been sending about 36% of its Moderna vaccine to the retailers Rite Aid and Topco. "We have to wait and see how many doses will be directly sent to Topco and Rite Aid locations, but this will hopefully mean in the near future, we can start to [use] those vaccines [that the state would have sent to the pharmacies] for other parts of our mission to vaccinate eligible Pennsylvanians," Mauldin said Wednesday. The Biden administration also plans to give states an idea of how many vaccines they will receive in the next three weeks. Previously, states only received information one week ahead, which has been cited by both the state and Allegheny County as a significant problem. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald also lauded news of the federal government supplying vaccines directly to pharmacies during a press briefing, but he and ACHD Director Dr. Debra Bogen said they do not yet have exact details on what this could mean for the county. Fitzgerald and Bogen also referenced the Johnson & Johnson vaccine currently being tested. "I will be thrilled if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved," Bogen said. "It's a one-dose vaccine, which means it's much easier to administer." ACHD has been looking into possible sites for new vaccine distribution centers across the county for ease of access. However, Bogen said it is difficult to move forward with new distribution centers without better predictability of how many vaccines the county will receive. She also addressed frustration concerning ACHD's decision to administer vaccines only to people 65 and older at its distribution centers. Pennsylvania allows county health departments to make such decisions, Bogen said, and ACHD wanted to prioritize vaccinating elderly residents. "The single, most clear determinant for whether a person will develop a severe case of COVID-19, be hospitalized due to COVID-19 or die because of COVID-19 is age," Bogen said. "And the older someone is, the higher the risk." The vast majority of residents at the four Kane Community Living Centers have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the county announced Wednesday. More than 1,500 residents and employees of the senior homes have been vaccinated, of whom 1,300 received the second of the two required shots. About 92% of residents and 64% of employees agreed to be vaccinated. This article was reported by Annie Siebert, Lauren Davidson, Matt Petras, Punya Bhasin, Danielle Cruz and Dannys Marrero. This article was produced by PublicSource.org, a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. PublicSource tells stories for a better Pittsburgh. Sign up for their free email newsletters at publicsource.org/newsletters.