Heidi Gibbons, a nurse, reached out to Action News after she could not get confirmation that the registration forms she had filled out for her 94-year-old mother had been accepted.
She makes her wonder if her mother is standing in a queue to receive the shots. Her mother lives in an independent living facility, which is not considered a nursing home in Bucks County, but she also has a residence in Philadelphia.
“If you apply to these sites, you get no confirmation at all. So it’s like putting her name in cyberspace and I really do not know if she’s technically on a waiting list somewhere,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons are not alone. Officials are asking people to apply through websites where they live and work, which includes signing up in more than one country if you live in one and work in another.
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If the county where you live and work does not have the option, you can register through the Pennsylvania Department of Health website.
With the new expansion of suitability, there are now 3.5 million Pennsylvanias eligible, but there are simply not enough vaccines yet.
The Philadelphia Department of Health works separately from the state and receives its own award directly from the CDC.
Currently they only have one ‘form of interest’ but still request people to sign up. Health officials plan to use it as a starting point as soon as there are more vaccines.
Philadelphia is working in the 1B phase. The Commonwealth is still functioning in phase 1A.
Frustrations are not only limited to registration, but also how people in each category are controlled.
Since health workers are included in such a wide spectrum, only health care workers in large health systems can be easily investigated.
Someone who claims to be home health care is relying on a system of honor.
The same is true for underlying conditions, with the exception of cancer patients or organ donors. The health department has easier contact with their doctors.
“To a large extent, we can not verify most people who come through,” said James Garrow, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Department of Health. “We want to make the vaccine available to as many people as possible, but at the same time we do not have enough to reach everyone.”
“Instead of going through documents and going through databases, we take it according to people’s word,” Garrow added. “As someone who is not in one of these priority groups, it takes it from someone who has cancer or just has an organ transplant. It’s not ideal. ‘s benevolence. ‘
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