PA Vaccine Updates: Public Eligibility, More Doses To Southeast

PENNSYLVANIA — There was major news on the Pennsylvania vaccine front over the past week, as the state announced that the timeline would accelerate.

This comes as the state and other parts of the nation undergo a "fourth wave" of the virus that has seen cases steadily rise. Health experts believe the rise will continue for at least the next several weeks in Pennsylvania, but it's also expected to not be as deadly as previous surges.

Thus far, the state has vaccinated 3,434,731 individuals with at least a first dose, and 1,874,693 with a complete administration. That's a total of 5,309,424, approaching half of the state's population of roughly 12 million.

Here are this week's updates on the vaccine:

Vaccine to be available to the general public by April 19

Pennsylvania announced an accelerated vaccination timeline on Wednesday, saying that doses will become available to the general public by April 19. The state plans to swiftly move through several phases in the coming weeks, with several individuals in the 1B category becoming eligible on March 31, as previously announced. Because providers can now reliably schedule into the future, the state was able to open up eligibility to more residents. MORE.

Southeastern state vaccine clinics axed

The planned state-run, regional mass vaccination clinics in southeastern Pennsylvania will not materialize after all, officials said. A weekly shipment of 42,000 Johnson & Johnson doses, which were previously set aside for the southeastern regional sites, will head straight to the counties, as they had asked. MORE.

PA now 12th nationwide in vaccination rate

The state now ranks 12th in the nation for the percent of the population which has received one dose, which is 31 percent, they said Tuesday, citing recent CDC statistics. They've also improved to 22nd overall for percentage of the overall doses they have used. MORE.

Southeastern counties to get 10,500 more doses a week

A weekly shipment of 42,000 Johnson & Johnson doses will be equally split between Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, and Bucks in what state officials called a "game changer." MORE.

1A on way to completion in Montco, Bucks

The Bucks County Health Department has worked to clear its waiting list of residents who pre-registered on its website for a vaccine under Phase 1A. Workers emailed appointment invitations to 65,000 people in a process that wrapped up on Monday, the county said. MORE.

Montgomery County, meanwhile, expects to complete 1A within a month.

Smaller clinics a big hit in Montco

For the second week in a row, Skippack Pharmacy vaccinated thousands of local residents at the pop-up clinic. MORE. Other clinics are popping up around the county to help reach more vulnerable populations. MORE.

Full schedule for PA vaccine eligibility

March 31: Police officers, firefighters, grocery store workers, and food and agriculture workers. Roughly 190,000 to 250,000 individuals are in this group.

April 5: The rest of the frontline workers in 1B. 700,000 to 1 million individuals are here.

April 12 will see 1C become eligible, include other critical infrastructure employees who cannot work remotely. 1.3 to 1.7 million are in this group.

April 19: The general public.

For full information about getting a coronavirus vaccine in Pennsylvania, visit Patch's information hub.