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Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Levine speaking at today’s virtual press conference. The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., November 19, that there were 7,126 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 288,978.
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State health officials ready to distribute COVID-19 vaccine, with focus on high-risk populations

Dan Zampogna

State health officials ready to distribute COVID-19 vaccine, with focus on high-risk populations

Pennsylvania Health Director, Dr. Rachel Levine held a media briefing to outline the state’s plans for rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine to the public once one becomes available:

WASHINGTON — With at least two drugmakers’ COVID-19 vaccines closer at hand, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday the state will be ready to distribute doses, as they become available, with an initial focus on vulnerable populations, including health care workers, nursing home patients and those with high-risk health conditions.

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Dr. Levine, in a Zoom news conference with reporters, said the state still needed funding from the federal government to ensure the smooth rollout of a largely unprecedented mass vaccination effort.

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The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had provided states about $340 million so far to coordinate future vaccine distribution — compared with $8 billion to $12 billion in federal funding poured into development of a vaccine, she said. The secretary did not say how much money had already been allocated to Pennsylvania or how much more the state needs.

“We could have vaccine within the next month — however, we do not know how quickly the vaccine supply will meet the demand,” Dr. Levine said, while also cautioning that “when the vaccine becomes available, it will not be an immediate cure or end to the coronavirus pandemic.” 

The health secretary’s remarks coincided with the department’s public release of a 51-page plan that outlined some COVID-19 vaccine logistics. In the executive summary of the plan, released Oct. 23, the department said it had already begun coordinating with hospitals, county health departments and other health care providers to prepare for the vaccine’s distribution.

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The department, under guidance from the CDC, plans to implement a three-phased vaccination program.

During the first phase, when doses are expected to be limited, the vaccine will be administered to health care workers in hospitals and long-term care facilities where patients are at high risk of falling seriously ill. The first phase will prioritize health care personnel in emergency departments, inpatient floors and intensive care units, as well as EMS first responders and residents of long-term care facilities.

As doses become more widely available, the vaccine will be administered to health care workers in nonemergency settings, home health care aides and people working in rehabilitation centers, prisons and shelters.

The state’s plan called out other “critical workers” who would also be a part of Phase 1, including those working in energy, manufacturing of essential goods or food processing. 

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The state defined high-risk conditions to include compromised immune systems, cancer, obesity, serious heart conditions, sickle cell disease and other ailments.

The second phase expands the list to include a greater number of critical workers and high-risk conditions.

In the third phase, the rest of the general population will begin to have access to the vaccine.

Dr. Levine said the state could not predict when each phase would begin or finish. The state expects vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna to be approved by federal officials and become available to the state at about the same time.

Both companies have already reported their vaccines are about 95% effective in late-stage vaccine trials — news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S. (The Pfizer vaccine is slightly ahead of Moderna’s, Dr. Levine said.)

And on Thursday, AstraZeneca and Oxford University released data on their vaccine that shows a strong immune response in older adults. Scientists expect to report full results from their late-stage trials by Christmas.

More than 70 vaccines are in the development pipeline around the world, with about a dozen that have reached the final stages of testing, according to The New York Times’ vaccine tracker.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious diseases expert, called the Pfizer and Moderna results “truly striking.”

“The vaccines that we’re talking about and vaccines to come are really the light at the end of the tunnel,” Dr. Fauci said.

Vaccine development comes as COVID-19 cases surge in the Pittsburgh region and across the country. Total U.S. cases have topped 11.5 million, and deaths now total 250,579.

Pennsylvania on Thursday reported 7,126 new COVID-19 cases, including more than 600 new cases in Allegheny County. There have been 22,043 positive cases in Allegheny County since the pandemic began here in March, according to the county Health Department.

The logistics of distributing a vaccine are daunting, Dr. Levine acknowledged.

There are currently six potential vaccines state officials are tracking — with Pfizer and Moderna in the lead. Both of those vaccines require two doses to ensure immunity, the secretary said.

The Pfizer vaccine must be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius, requiring advanced refrigeration, while the Moderna vaccine could be kept in a standard refrigerator, the secretary said. “That poses significant logistical challenges,” Dr. Levine said.

The federal allotment of $340 million for all states “is not enough to be able to accomplish this prodigious task,” Dr. Levine said. “We are calling upon the federal government and the CDC to provide more funding for the distribution, the administration and the communications about the vaccine.”

Dr. Levine sought to dispel any fears that a vaccine will be unsafe because of the speed with which it was developed or possible distrust of the divisive politics that have surrounded COVID-19 policy in Washington.

“Science has driven the process,” Dr. Levine said. “I feel comfortable with the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.”

Asked about any side effects, Dr. Levine said that, aside from some instances of muscle soreness, minor fatigue and headaches, “The evidence so far is that they’re very well tolerated.”

Last month, two national trade groups representing state health departments wrote to Congress to ask for an additional $8.4 billion for distributing the vaccine. CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield has said that at least $6 billion is needed. 

Another COVID-19 relief package has stalled in Congress, which is in a lame-duck session and must pass a bill to fund the government beyond 2020. Lawmakers depart Washington next week for Thanksgiving and have two weeks of sessions left before adjourning for the year. 

Daniel Moore: dmoore@post-gazette.com, Twitter @PGdanielmoore.

Story updated at 3:33 p.m. on Nov. 19, 2020. 

First Published: November 19, 2020, 4:33 p.m.
Updated: November 19, 2020, 7:30 p.m.

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Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Levine speaking at today’s virtual press conference. The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., November 19, that there were 7,126 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 288,978.  (Dan Zampogna)
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