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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA – As Montgomery County continues to lead the local front in the largest vaccination campaign in history, Pennsylvania has announced plans to expand the Phase 1A priority group to include anyone over 65 years old.
Under these new guidelines, which now include anyone with serious underlying medical conditions between the ages of 16 and 64, there are 250,000 additional residents of Montgomery County eligible for 1A.
“We agree that the COVID-19 vaccine must be provided in an ethical, fair and efficient manner,” Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said on Tuesday. “We continue to ask for people’s patience as our vaccine supply is extremely limited.”
But at the current rate, it could take more than a year to vaccinate all of 1A, Arkoosh warned. The authorities therefore hope that much larger quantities of vaccines will be available sooner.
So far, 24,952 partial doses of the vaccine have been given to residents of Montgomery County, while 3,772 others have received both full doses, according to the state’s COVID-19 Dashboard.
It is still unclear when Phases 1B and 1C of vaccine deployment will begin in Pennsylvania. Montgomery County officials have expressed hope in the past that it could happen by the end of January, but Arkoosh appeared to pour cold water on the idea on Wednesday. Timelines are blurred by a lack of clarity regarding future shipments and are dependent on the federal government and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
After the 250,000 additional residents, along with all other health workers who have not yet been vaccinated, Phases 1B and 1C are also crowded in the county. There are approximately 16,598 teachers and essential school personnel, and 1,400 police officers.
People in 1B and 1C can pre-register for an appointment to get the vaccine on the Montgomery County website. Registration for 1A is available at the same link.
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