Pennsylvania Department of Health COVID-19 Press Secretary Barry Ciccocioppo defended the state’s vaccine output compared to surrounding states.
He asserted during a media briefing Thursday that the number of doses administered is “what matters most.” In total, 1.9 million doses have been injected in arms to date in the state, including second shots required for full vaccination, he said.
Ciccocioppo said West Virginia has been held up as a model, but that state has administered 396,000 doses to date.
“So Pennsylvania has five times more doses delivered to residents,” he said.
Viewing statistics from this vantage, Pennsylvania also has administered more doses than Ohio and New Jersey and is “not far behind” New York, even though that state has received more than a million more doses from the federal government than Pennsylvania so far, he said.
His message came a day after state officials announced vaccine appointments for approximately 100,000 people may need to be rescheduled because an undetermined number of unidentified providers inadvertently used their second-shot allotments of the Moderna vaccine as first doses. The second-dose shortage does not affect the Pfizer vaccine.
The state is addressing that problem with better tracking and communication because some providers may not have realized which shipments were intended for first and second doses because they did not have distinctive packing slips or labels distinguishing them, he said.
Ciccocioppo said the vaccine furnished by the federal government continues to fall short of the demand, but he expects improvement.
For example, community providers across the state requested 705,000 first doses two weeks ago, and the federal allotment was 166,000, he said.
The current system of providing the vaccine through a network of pharmacies and health care systems allows residents to choose a trusted option in their region as supplies are available, he said. More mass regional vaccination sites eventually will crop up when the federal government significantly increases allotments, he said.
Geisinger announcement
In a separate vaccine-related announcement, Geisinger’s CenterPoint Vaccine Center in Jenkins Township is rescheduling some first-dose vaccines scheduled for Friday, Feb. 19, due to shipment delays caused by nationwide severe weather.
This rescheduling had nothing to do with Wednesday’s state health department finding about providers misidentifying first and second doses. Geisinger had provided a statement saying it never used vaccine supply specifically designated for second doses to administer first doses.
At the CenterPoint vaccine location, first-dose appointments scheduled after 3 p.m. on Friday will be rescheduled for March 1, Geisinger said. As previously announced, second-dose vaccine appointments on Friday were rescheduled for Feb. 21.
Geisinger is reaching out directly to those impacted to provide a new appointment time.