PA Vaccine Updates: New Phase Begins, Passports, Shipments

PENNSYVLANIA — A milestone in Pennsylvania's vaccination campaign was reached last week as the state opened up vaccine pre-registration to individuals in the 1B group. April will be a month full of such benchmarks, as the vaccine will become available to the general public by the 19th. However, officials continue to warn that just because pre-registration is available for all, does not mean appointments will be immediately available.

Cases are continuing to rise amid the fourth wave of the virus, despite the increased level of vaccinations. This week marked the third straight week of most key metrics moving in the wrong direction.

As of Friday, Pennsylvania has administered 3,847,164 partial doses and 2,208,660 full doses, for a total of 6,055,844. This means that roughly half of the population of the state has received at least one dose of the vaccine, and that number is even larger factoring in that children are not considered part of the vaccine-eligible population.

Here are the latest updates on the vaccine from across the state:

At long last, eligibility expands in Pennsylvania

After months of wait lines that seemed to be ever-growing, as the state struggled to catch up with vaccinations for a massive 1A category, things took a much-anticipated step forward this week. The state opened up appointments to the 1B category on Monday. 1C is scheduled for April 12, and the general public will be able to be vaccinated on April 19. MORE.

Vaccine passports nixed by Wolf

Contrary to previous rumors, Gov. Wolf does not support the notion of "vaccine passports" being legislated by the state government. The White House and WHO have issued similar pronouncements, seemingly leaving the venture to the private sector. Pennsylvania Republicans are still pushing legislation that would ban passports. MORE.

Vaccine "matchmaker" thriving

PA CoVID Vaccine Match Maker has been around since Feb. 2 and has grown to nearly 64,000 members. One person every minute was joining the group on Wednesday afternoon. The page states it exists to "Connect with people and resources needing help or willing to help with CoVID Vaccine scheduling." MORE.

Wolf: "light at the end of the tunnel"

Gov. Wolf appeared at the Bethlehem Baptist Church in a town near Pittsburgh that will be Allegheny County's fourth vaccination clinic beginning next week. He touted the state's progress thus far, noting that "as of this point, we are number one among the ten largest states in the country for first doses." MORE.

Montco gets "double shipment" of 21,000 doses, opens two new clinics

Vaccine administration is progressing swiftly in one of the state's most populous counties, just over a week after county officials said they were still being shortchanged by the Department of Health. A shift in policy has resulted in a massive influx in Johnson & Johnson doses, with 10,500 expected weekly and a special double shipment of 21,000 received this week. MORE.

Multiple sites open in Bucks County amid shipment increase

Like Montgomery County, Bucks was also the beneficiary of a huge increase in doses the past week, allowing them to notably expand their operations. The county opened a fifth mass vaccination site at the former Giant grocery store in the Warwick Square Shopping Center. MORE.

Southeastern counties complete 1A scheduling

Just about two weeks ago, tens of thousands of pre-registered people in 1A still were waiting to be contacted for appointments in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, and Delaware counties, the state's most populous region that was trailing many other areas in its vaccination rate.

Bucks completed 1A scheduling this past week, they announced. MORE. Montgomery County has as well, and anticipated they'd move into 1B appointments this week or next week. 42 percent of their eligible population over the age of 16 has been vaccinated with at least one dose. MORE. Delaware County is also now moving into 1B. MORE.

Learn more about getting a coronavirus vaccine in Pennsylvania at Patch's information hub.