Is Suburban Philly Getting A Fair Share Of Vaccines? See The Data

SOUTHEASTERN, PA — The most populous part of the state and a crucial cog in the region's economic engine has been slighted in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, leaders in southeastern Pennsylvania say. They're continuing to advocate for what they argue is their fair share of doses.

But despite recent increases in doses in many of these counties and promises from the state that even more is on the way, it remains unclear how this inequity occurred in the first place. Or, for that matter, what the state is doing to ensure it doesn't happen again.

The state and the counties do not appear to be on the same page.

Bucks County officials said that Acting Secretary of Health of Alison Beam disputed the idea that southeastern Pennsylvania had been treated unfairly. In Montgomery County, leaders said they were told by the Pennsylvania Department of Health that the county was being vaccinated at the same rate as other counties across the state.

"This does not account for seniors and vulnerable populations who cannot access appointments and travel to other places," Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence shared on social media Tuesday. "They need vaccine availability in their communities...Equity and disparities also need to be accounted for in vaccine allocation."

The Department of Health did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on this story. In a joint statement issued by Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties Monday, local leaders called a weekend Zoom meeting with Beam "disappointing and frustrating," pointing to the ongoing lack of transparency in the algorithm used by the state to determine county allocations.

RELATED: County Leaders Spar With State Over Vaccine Rollout

All of the Philadelphia collar counties — Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery — have administered similar or fewer doses per 100,000 residents than some of the state's most rural counties. Those four counties represent four of the seven most populous counties in the state, meaning that a disproportionately large percentage of the local population is not being vaccinated compared to other parts of the state.

All four counties say that they have received fewer doses than they've requested, and that this has led to longer waiting lines, cancellation of second dose appointments, and "anger and frustration" among residents.

New legislation that would require the state to allocate vaccines by population has been introduced in the state legislature by Bucks County State Rep. Frank Farry.

A group of legislators has also banded together to urge the Wolf administration to turn over vaccine allocation and distribution entirely from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to the Pennsylvania National Guard.

"There are people throughout Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties who should have already been vaccinated if the administration had followed an equitable distribution formula,” Farry said in a statement. "The planning of this distribution has lacked transparency; it’s been a disaster. The National Guard specializes in logistics, and that’s how we fix this moving forward."

Here are the most recent statistics for first doses administered per 100,000 individuals, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health:

• Bucks: 6,742.2 (4th in population)
• Delaware County: 7,783.5 (5th in population)
• Chester County: 8,874.3 (7th in population)
• Montgomery County: 11,897.7 (3rd in population)

Meanwhile, the following comparatively small counties have administered a similar or larger amount of doses per 100,000 residents:

• Mifflin: 7,286.8 (46th in population)
• Montour: 9,577.6 (62nd in population)
• Mercer: 9,656.0 (30th in population)
• Elk: 10,946.2 (59th in population)
• Cameron: 14,886 (67th in population)
• Sullivan: 19,238.4 (66th in population)

Similar statistics addressing total allocations per county were first released in a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer on Feb. 27. Allocations are even more lopsided in favor of many rural counties, with Montour, Mifflin, Mercer, and Elk ranking in the top four of allocations per 100,000, the Inquirer states.

Montgomery, meanwhile, ranked 20th, Chester 29th, Bucks 34th, and Delaware 53rd, per that report.

Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said that the limited allocation to these counties had larger implications, due to the importance of the area to the state's economy.

"We need to get the southeast back (open), as an entity, in order to get our economic region back on track," she said.

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccination in Pennsylvania, visit Patch's information hub.