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HARRISBURG, Pa .– Republicans blame Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration for slow rollout of covid-19 vaccine in Pennsylvania, even as Wolf himself says insufficient supply is the real culprit, sparking a new fight policy on who is to blame for the frustrations of eligible residents trying to get vaccinated.
GOP leaders in the House and Senate rebuked Wolf for making Pennsylvania second-to-last among states in administering vaccines. The state has managed to get less than half of its federal dose allocation into the hands of the people, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
State health officials say about 720,000 Pennsylvania residents have received at least one vaccine until Thursday, a fraction of the more than 4 million who are currently eligible.
“The rollout of this vaccine statewide is fraught with inconsistencies, fraud and a lack of transparency,” Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland said, adding that the rollout is slow. will prolong any attempt to revive an already devastated economy in Pennsylvania. ”
Wolf, for his part, said the Trump administration was too promising on vaccines, hampering Pennsylvania’s ability to rapidly vaccinate millions of people.
In the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency, when Pennsylvania followed CDC guidelines in expanding eligibility to people 65 and older and those with serious health conditions, it did so with the hope to receive a large increase in her weekly vaccine allowance.
This does not happen.
“The biggest challenge we face is that we are not getting enough vaccine doses to meet Pennsylvania’s needs,” Wolf said, adding that “it’s been frustrating, and it’s disappointing because we have all relied on the federal government for us. that we have the vaccines.
President Joe Biden, who took office last week, has vowed to speed up deliveries to states. Pennsylvania expects to receive 160,000 doses next week, up from 140,000 doses in previous weeks, according to the state Department of Health. But it is still far from the 705,000 doses requested by vaccine suppliers.
Bill Johnston-Walsh, director of AARP in Pennsylvania, said his office had received calls from members who were confused and frustrated with their inability to contact a vendor and then get an appointment.
One of its members, a resident of the Pittsburgh area, said he made 10 or 15 calls to get an appointment for her elderly husband – in Erie, a few hours away.
The AARP wants the Wolf administration to set up a toll-free number that would allow older residents to connect to a vaccine supplier. Currently, Pennsylvania relies on a dispersed distribution system involving hospitals, doctor’s offices, drugstore chains, municipal health departments, and even grocery stores.
“What we’re asking for is a live person on the phone to answer their questions or help them navigate the system, instead of what you’re doing now, going from a pharmacy or a health center. community health to another, ”Johnston -Walsh said.
Politically speaking, criticism of Wolf’s vaccine rollout is sort of a change for the GOP.
Republicans, who hold a majority in both legislative chambers, have spent nearly a year attacking Wolf’s efforts to defeat the coronavirus. They have fought his measures against the pandemic in court, saying he has overstepped the line by shutting down businesses, ordering people to stay at home and putting size limits on gatherings. They are pushing for a constitutional amendment that would limit Wolf’s emergency powers. Some refuse to wear a mask in public.
On vaccines, however, Republicans looked to the fact that Wolf was not doing enough. The State Health Committee has scheduled a hearing for Monday to probe the deployment of the vaccine in the state.
“The administration’s confused and short-sighted advice has caused significant public angst,” parliamentary majority leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Center said.
Dr Mark Roberts, director of the Public Health Dynamics Laboratory at the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, said it was hard to blame the state, given the federal government’s primacy in the process. vaccine distribution.
The criticism is not limited to the Republican antagonists of Wolf. Last week, Democratic Senator Lindsey Williams said the state’s vaccine distribution system needed more transparency and clarity. Johnston-Walsh, the director of AARP, wrote to Wolf last week that “Pennsylvania has a logistical problem” which he said is “simply unacceptable to AARP and should be to all Pennsylvanians.”
The state’s health department says CDC statistics don’t tell the whole story. Although doses may be listed as “assigned”, it may take several days for them to arrive. Vaccine suppliers take one to three days to report that they have administered the vaccines. Additionally, Pennsylvania is withholding second doses, while other states are pushing them back all at the same time.
But Wolf, speaking to reporters this week, acknowledged the work to be done.
“We want to do a much better job than what we do, and we will continue to improve this process,” he said.
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