Pennsylvania Department of Health officials have confirmed that the number of covid-19 vaccine doses has been allocated since Westmoreland County since December, as local and regional leaders continue to highlight increasing problems with the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
State Commissioner Doug Chew said the state data analysis found that 56 of the 66 counties (not Philadelphia, which is allocated doses directly by the federal government) received a higher percentage of vaccine per capita. Westmoreland was the lowest among similar provinces, he said.
The state has sent Westmoreland providers enough vaccine to provide the first of two required doses for just 7% of the country’s population and to vaccinate 3% of the province with 348,000 residents, Chew said. Other provinces with fewer populations have received enough doses to vaccinate a larger percentage of their inhabitants.
In fact, Westmoreland ranked lowest among all third-class countries in terms of vaccine doses, Chew said.
“Everyone in Westmoreland Province is struggling to get a vaccine, and we want to see our position more in line with our population,” Chew said.
Health Department spokesman Barry Ciccocioppo agrees that Westmoreland vaccine providers receive a total of 31,891 doses, a quantity that is ‘slightly fewer doses per capita than provinces of the same size’.
Chew said until Feb. 19 that his analysis revealed that ten provinces with smaller populations – Cumberland, Dauphin, Erie, Lackawanna, Lucerne, Lycoming, Mercer and Montour – all received more doses than Westmoreland.
Government officials did not respond to questions about how the Department of Health determines how many doses are sent to each country or the exact number of vaccinations Westmoreland is short of.
“Depending on the total allocation from the state, the department will strive to increase Westmoreland’s doses in the future, and as supply increases again, we will try to ensure that they receive adequate supplies compared to peer counties,” said Ciccocioppo.
Excela Health, the largest medical care provider in Westmoreland, received about half of the vaccine doses allocated to the country, about 16,000 doses, according to the chief medical officer, dr. Carol Fox.
The province’s vaccine allocation apparently does not match the population or the percentage of people aged 65 and older who are now eligible to be vaccinated, she said.
“We want to make sure we get as many vaccines as possible in the arms of people who are at greatest risk for the virus,” Fox said.
About 23% of the country’s residents, or more than 81,000 people, are 65 and older, according to U.S. Census data. Seven counties (Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster and Philadelphia) have more residents in the age group.
Regional approach?
The way vaccines are administered remains a mystery to leaders across the region, who say they have asked the state to explain the criteria but have received no response from the Department of Health.
Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughn said frustration was building over the awarding of vaccines.
“We are disappointed with the criteria that have been changed and changed again,” Vaughn said, pointing out that Allegheny is the only country in the region to have received a direct grant of vaccine doses from the state.
Allegheny is also the only state in southwestern Pennsylvania with its own department of health. According to these records, this week it received more than 50,000 doses of vaccine distributed to local citizens at local clinics over the past two months.
Commissioners from seven other counties – Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland – met remotely this week to discuss the possibility of a regional health department.
Vaughn said early estimates suggest a health department serving several provinces would cost about $ 8 million. She warned that talks are in the early stages to determine what approvals are needed by the regulations and legislators before an agency can be formed.
“We need to look at options, whether it’s for one country or region,” she said.
Fayette Commissioner Dave Lohr said cost would be a factor, as well as the impact a local health department would have on local businesses and residents.
“We’re all trying to figure out what’s best for our people,” Lohr said.
Westmoreland commissioners have rejected calls for the country to set up its own health department. Commissioner Gina Cerilli last week pushed the idea of a regional division that includes several provinces.
‘We are very interested in setting up a regional health department as opposed to an individual department for Westmoreland. “It is clear that the province will not get such a big financial blow, but the department will be focused on the needs of Western Pennsylvania,” Cerilli said.
Chew was less committed and said many of the duties and oversight responsibilities currently required by the state from a health department, as well as the logistics of one agency serving a large geographic region, could cloud interest.
“I’m not convinced it can be done in the region,” Chew said. “I just think a large number of requirements make it formidable, even impossible, for a large number of provinces to do so.”
Rich Cholodofsky is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, [email protected] or via Twitter. .
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