PITTSBURGH — Pennsylvania health officials took questions during a press conference on Tuesday, maintaining that the goal is to have everyone in phase 1A vaccinated or at least scheduled for a vaccine appointment come March 31.
The Department of Health’s Acting Secretary signed an order instructing all vaccine providers to work to ensure that.
The news comes as leaders in nearby Ohio announced that vaccines will be available for everyone over the age of 16 by that very same deadline.
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Lindsey Mauldin, Pennsylvania Department of Health Senior Advisor for COVID-19 Response was asked to respond.
“We are responsible for administering and allocating to 66 counties. I will also say the demographics of Pennsylvania look very different than the state of Ohio. I believe we have many more folks in the 1A phase so we have a lot more work to do there in terms of meeting that need,” she said.
The only county in Pennsylvania with its own administering system is Philadelphia. There, leaders announced Tuesday that they plan to enter phase 2, which includes everyone over age 16, by May 1st. President Joe Biden advised that all states should reach that same goal.
It’s unclear as to whether or not Pennsylvania can pull that off.
Mauldin was not able to confirm when we can expect to enter phases 1B and 1C, but did state that leaders will make sure everyone in 1A has been accommodated first.
She also said she suspects that “we are going to move through 1B and 1C a lot faster” than we are presently moving through 1A.
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