COVID-19 vaccine confluence: Pa. and its neighbors have very different rollouts

PITTSBURGH — It’s a confluence of sorts, something Pittsburghers know a thing or two about. It’s also called the “tri-state” — the convergence of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, all within about 10 miles of each other.

Each of the three states are rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine, but the stories we found in each place we visited were starkly different.

We begin our journey in Steubenville, Ohio. That’s where we met 83-year-old Eudora Magnone. She’s lived in this tight-knit community her whole life, and she just got her first dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.

“It was really well-organized,” she told Channel 11′s Amy Hudak. “I begged for it! I kept calling. I signed up every place I could and all my friends did too.”

Eudora’s persistence paid off. She, and all of the friends she plays cards with, are now a couple of weeks away from their second dose of the vaccine and the joy of being able to be with their loved ones again.

“It just moved so smooth,” Eudora said. “There were a lot of people that day. I think it was over 200!”

Andrew Henry is the Health Commissioner for Jefferson County, Ohio, where Steubenville is located. He said the state of Ohio and Gov. Mike DeWine are laser-focused and getting vaccines in arms as fast as possible. However, the county’s health department is only receiving 200 vaccines a week, and some folks in their 80s have not gotten a fair shake.

“We want people to know they are a priority to us,” Henry said. “They might not feel that way. They might feel left out and I don’t want anyone to feel like that.”

If you live in Pennsylvania, the story probably sounds familiar. John Gunbar lives in Ohio, but hears the woes of Pennsylvania’s vaccine rollout from his son in Pittsburgh.

“Oh yeah, I know all about it,” Gunbar said. “Confusion, trying to get organized.”

Just across the Ohio River from Steubenville is Weirton, West Virginia. Neighbors like Cheryl Guzzl said the vaccine rollout is smooth and steady.

“I haven’t really heard where anyone is having any difficulties,” Guzzl said.

While Weirton is just a quick drive from western Pennsylvania and Ohio, the differences in the vaccine rollout couldn’t be further from one another. Bob Marino, a retired pharmacist, said the Mountain State took a risk the other 49 states didn’t and it is paying off big-time.

“I think what West Virginia did that was successful was they opted out of the federal program and focused on the local pharmacies,” Marino said. “They didn’t have to deal with the bureaucracy of the multi-billion dollar corporations like CVS and Walgreens and Walmart.”

Mom-and-pop pharmacies, with strong ties to the community and their neighbors, bypassed the red tape, got their hands on vaccines and got to work. The elderly could rely on working phones lines with a familiar voice on the other end — not complicated, clogged-up online systems.

“I think that has been the key in West Virginia,” Marino added. “I’m not seeing the same success in Pennsylvania or Ohio. I’m born and raised here, very proud to be a West Virginian.”

The statistics speak for that success.

• 81% of the vaccine the state of West Virginia has received has been given to people. It’s called the vaccine “allotment.”
• In Pennsylvania, only 58% of the state’s doses have made their way into people’s arms.
• In Ohio, the allotment is 60%.

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West Virginia has also more than doubled the amount of people fully vaccinated, compared to neighbors in Ohio and Pennsylvania. By Friday, every single nursing home in the Mountain State will be completely vaccinated against COVID-19.

But there is a catch. In each state, it still comes down to supply and demand, and the supply just isn’t there — not even close. Each of the three states is only receiving enough vaccine each week to fully vaccinate one-half of 1% of their populations. Some people, especially those who are high risk, feel’s there’s no end in sight any time soon.

“The community sometimes feels we’re not meeting their needs and I don’t want anyone to feel that way,” Henry said. “We’re doing the best we can, but we’re hamstrung by the supply.”

It’s a frustrating and brutally slow end to a pandemic that has claimed our loved ones and consumed our communities for nearly a year.

“I think they’re doing the best they can do,” Magnone said. “But if you don’t get the vaccine, then you can’t shoot anyone with it.”

Pittsburgh area school district offered COVID-19 vaccinations to eligible staffers

Cox Media Group