Montco State Sens. Push For Changes To Vaccine Registration In PA

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Citing the growing number of residents waiting in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, several state legislators have banded together to propose a centralized, statewide registration system for Pennsylvania.

The new legislation, which is cosponsored by Montgomery County area state senators Katie Muth, Amanda Cappelletti, and Maria Collett, among others, is a companion piece to similar legislation already introduced in the House of Representatives.

Both call for sweeping changes to help ease the process. The house bill would see the launch of a database of all Pennsylvanians who are eligible for the vaccine. The senate proposal builds off that.

"(The bill) will allow Pennsylvanians to register themselves and their loved ones as willing recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine, provide proof of eligibility for a risk category, and provide how far they are willing to travel to receive their vaccination," Muth said Tuesday.

As things currently stand, residents are often faced with the perplexing choice of registering for vaccination appointments separately, via numerous different providers. Although the state announced plans to reduce its number of vaccine providers from more than 1700 to around 200, residents still face separate registration for pharmacies, doctor's offices, healthcare networks, and community sites run by individual counties.

Ultimately, officials are hopeful the bill will save time and help residents who are spending hours lost in the registration process. What the proposed legislation does not do is change, in any way, the state's allotment of vaccine, which the state continues to say is the great limiting factor.