2 million vaccinated across Pa., more than 300K in long-term care

While the Department of Health said on Tuesday that more than 2 million Pennsylvanians have received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the state also said it reached an important milestone in vaccinating people in senior living facilities.

According to a release from Governor Tom Wolf’s administration on Tuesday, more than 315,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered at long-term care facilities being vaccinated by CVS and Walgreens.

Additionally, more than 600 skilled nursing facilities have received their first and second dose of the vaccine.

In Wolf’s release on Tuesday, he said that this is an important step forward in the pandemic.

“This is an important milestone for Pennsylvania, and it marks key progress in ensuring that our most vulnerable residents have access to a vaccine,” Wolf said. “Skilled nursing, personal care, and assisted living facilities have been hit hard by the pandemic, which is why this milestone is such an important one for us to recognize – because it shows how far we have come in protecting our most vulnerable residents.”

This vaccination milestone was reached as part of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership program, under which CVS and Walgreens are acting as Pennsylvania’s partners.

Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam, though, stressed that this is not the end of the state’s vaccination plans for the long-term care facilities.

“We are not finished with the long-term care vaccination mission,” Beam said. “In fact, each facility will have at least three vaccination clinics so we can ensure that as many residents and staff who want to get vaccinated have the opportunity. This way, if someone declined the vaccine in the first or second opportunity, they’ll have another chance.”

Beam also gave updates on many delayed vaccines, which had been pushed off due to last week’s severe winter weather, saying that second doses will soon be available and providers are receiving updates and guidance from the Department of Health.

Lindsey Mauldin, senior advisor for the state’s COVID-19 response, also said that more than 180,000 Pennsylvanians have begun using the Your Turn tool, introduced earlier this month, which allows individuals to register their contact information so as to get notified when they’re eligible for a vaccine.

According to Mauldin, more than 2 million doses of the vaccine have been administered, with 1,474,479 having received the first dose and 559,644 being fully vaccinated.

Pennsylvania has been allocated 225,890 first dose vaccines this week, which the state says is the highest single-week allotment its gotten so far, and has also been allocated 180,610 second doses this week. Both figures represent a roughly 40,000 increase in allotments from last week.