New orders from state health officials will seek to speed up and streamline Pennsylvania’s vaccination process, requiring vaccine suppliers to administer most of their assigned initial doses within a week of receipt.
As of February 22, vaccine providers will be required to administer 80% of the first dose of vaccines they receive within seven days of receipt.
“I want Pennsylvanians to know we’ve heard you, and we’re taking bold, decisive action,” said Acting Health Minister Alison Beam.
There will also be fewer providers who will receive vaccine assignments, Beam said, indicating that more doses will go to the providers who have shown they are able to vaccinate most people quickly.
That means, she said, some providers will receive fewer first-shot doses than in the past. She said this is the most effective way to vaccinate most people in as little time as possible.
“This order is indicative of a plan and it will take effect gradually,” said Beam, noting that there are currently about 1,700 suppliers signed up to give vaccines – although not all receive regular shipments – and that number will gradually drop to only a few hundred.
The primary focus will be to ensure that providers provide a complete and complete picture of how many people are actually vaccinated and who they are in terms of demographics. Those details must be reported to the state within 24 hours.
That requirement takes effect immediately.
“We need to not only know how much vaccine has been administered, but also understand precisely how much has been administered,” she said.
Dr. Pittsburgh infectious disease expert Amesh Adalja agreed that Pennsylvania is underperforming when it comes to vaccinations.
“There really should be no excuse to have vaccines on hand, but to stay on the shelves,” said Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “This warrant highlights the urgency we face in introducing vaccines into this state. I am concerned about reducing or suspending dose allocations as a punitive measure as it could potentially further complicate the rollout and reflect a lack of resources, and be better addressed by increasing the possibilities of stuttering vaccine sites rather than to punish. ”
Adalja said the vaccine priority classification slows down the process.
“Vaccinators must be given the flexibility to deviate from strict priority groups in order to meet the 80% rule,” he said.
The next focus, then, is to make sure their appointment-making systems – both online and over the phone – are sniffing. From there, Beam said, the Health Department will have a better idea of which providers are sticking to this latest round of orders.
The phone scheduling system is another highlight of Beam’s orders, and she noted that many who qualify for it are left with online forms or phone lines leading them to an online form.
“We want to make sure the phone line is manned by a real, live person who will be able to take your information and schedule an appointment for you,” she said, noting that providers should have a person’s second dose appointment. at the same time they make the first appointment.
The goal, she said, is to get providers to “invest to make sure their phone lines are there for those who aren’t comfortable with the online mechanism.”
That part of Beam’s order will take effect on February 19.
The requirement for providers to deliver 80% of their first dose within seven days of receiving it is the last principle of the orders to take effect. Beam said working through the first and second focus will give the Department of Health a better understanding of where the vaccine should go and how much of it should go there.
After that, the allocations will reflect their adherence to the order, she said. “From our perspective, it is important that our partners – our suppliers – know what our expectations are before placing their next order.”
Megan Guza is a writer on the Tribune Review staff. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, [email protected] or via Twitter
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