What to Know
- The Wolf administration and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers are forming a vaccine task force that will brainstorm ways to get COVID-19 shots into Pennsylvanians’ arms more rapidly.
- A persistent lack of supply and the state’s lagging distribution system have slowed efforts to vaccinate more than 4 million Pennsylvania residents who are currently eligible for the vaccine.
- Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that Pennsylvania needs to do a “better job” of administering the shots. Meanwhile, the state Health Department has unveiled a new vaccine eligibility tool on its website, called “Your Turn.”
Pennsylvania has unveiled a new tool that allows any person to sign up to get alerted when they are able to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
The “Your Turn” website is designed to allow any resident to enter their contact information such as their name, address and type of residence (nursing home, apartment, house) in order to determine a profile and keep that information stored to alert them when they might be eligible for a vaccine. Philadelphia residents aren't included on the state site, which sends Philadelphians here.
“When it is your turn, we will direct you on how to find a vaccine provider. If it is not your turn yet, you will be able to enter contact information to receive updates about vaccine distribution," Acting Secretary of Health, Alison Beam said in a statement.
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If a person who is 65 or older uses the tool, they will be directed to make an appointment at a vaccination center in the state. But if the person signing up is unqualified, they can provide their information to be alerted when they might be able to receive it.
Currently, the following groups of people are able to receive the vaccine in Pennsylvania:
- Health care personnel
- Long-term care/nursing home residents
- First responders
- People ages 65 and older
- People ages 16-64 with high risk conditions
- Learn more about other categories here
To learn more about where you land in the current phase or when you should be able to get vaccinated, visit the official site of the state of Pennsylvania here.
The new site comes as the state struggles to get doses into arms. Pennsylvania ranks 41st among states in the number of shots given per 100,000 people, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 46th in the percentage of allocated vaccine doses that have been administered.
“We need to do a better job in Pennsylvania. That is not mystery. That's not something that I am at all reluctant to acknowledge,” Gov. Tom Wolf said at a media briefing Tuesday, while also stressing that Pennsylvania, like every other state, needs more vaccine.
