Seniors in Allegheny County will have to wait for covid vaccine, officials say

People 75 and older in Allegheny County will have to wait longer to receive their covid shots as county officials await advice from the federal government.

“We have received a lot of calls and emails from people asking when it will be their turn to get the vaccine and how they will know it,” Allegheny County Director Rich Fitzgerald said on Wednesday. “I wish we could answer that. There is a lot of information that is still unknown. ”

State and county officials have received little information from federal entities, they said, which could slow the vaccination process.

The state’s vaccine dashboard shows that around 30,000 vaccines have been distributed in Allegheny County, but health director Dr Debra Bogen said it was a “Significant underestimation”.

The county as a whole has received around 115,000 doses since mid-December, and most are distributed through county health systems, she said.

The health department alone has administered 2,266 vaccines and plans to distribute the remainder of its first allocation by Wednesday, Bogen said. The Department of Health plans to extend the hours of operation of its Monroeville vaccination site and has already requested another dose allocation from the federal government.

None of those figures include the distribution of vaccines to long-term care facilities, which is managed through a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens. Bogen said 42 long-term care facilities in the county have received vaccines, but the number of vaccines given under the program has not been shared at the county level.

“I know people continue to be frustrated with what seems like a very slow process,” Bogen said. “There is a lot of information that is not known to us and aspects of the distribution – like the federal government’s allocation of vaccines to Pennsylvania – that are not under our control.

The state is notified each week how many doses it will receive from the federal government, and then in turn assigns the doses to each county. As more vaccine vendors join them, Bogen said, fewer doses each will receive until the state receives more or vaccine manufacture increases.

The county has received an average of about 23,000 doses per week over the past five weeks, she said.

Focus always on health workers

Bogen said the county is still busy immunizing people in phase 1A of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, including healthcare workers, residents and staff at long-term care facilities. While some states have already started Phase 1B – which includes people over 75 and grocery store workers – officials said Allegheny County will likely spend more time on 1A, due to the number of health workers in the region.

“Our area in particular has a higher than average number of people who will fall into 1A, because we have so many healthcare workers in our county,” Fitzgerald said. “We ask for your patience.”

Fitzgerald added that the amount of vaccination allocated to each county each week fluctuates, which also increases the time it will take to go through the phases.

Bogen acknowledged the lack of information for many frontline workers and members of the general population regarding vaccine distribution. She echoed the sentiments of Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr Rachel Levine, who has repeatedly said the state is at the mercy of the federal government for vaccine quantities and timing.

“It would be very helpful to know when more vaccines are coming to the pike,” Bogen said.

When it’s the turn of the 75 years

When the county moves to Phase 1B, Bogen asked providers to prioritize immunization of residents 75 and older, as well as those 65 and older who are at chronic health risks. As vaccine supply increases, doses will be available at community pharmacies, at pop-up events, and at mass vaccination sites.

“This is all being planned, but the timing depends on vaccine availability, so we don’t have a perfect schedule for you just yet,” Bogen said.

Yet there have been numerous reports in the county of vaccine suppliers administering doses to people not in the first priority group. Bogen asked providers to contact the health department if they had additional doses of the vaccine and were unsure how to access more people in 1A.

Fitzgerald encouraged residents of the county to sign up for Allegheny Alerts, noting a new subscription option that focuses specifically on vaccine information.

Meanwhile, Bogen said she remains concerned about a post-vacation surge in covid cases, deaths and hospitalizations. The county reported 74 new deaths on Wednesday – including 73 in December, Bogen said, due to delays in the state’s electronic death notification system.

December was the deadliest month for the pandemic in the county, with a total of 509 deaths.

Teghan Simonton is a writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Teghan at 724-226-4680, [email protected] or via Twitter .