As provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health Dec. 17

Why should I get a COVID-19 vaccine?

Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools available. Vaccines work with your immune system so your body will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed. Other steps, like wearing masks and social distancing, help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others. Together, COVID-19 vaccination and following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) recommendations to protect yourself and othersOpens In A New Window will offer the best protection from COVID-19.

How much vaccine is available?

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine does are minimal. This means that not everyone will be able to be vaccinated right away. It is understandable how concerning this would be for people, especially for those who are at increased risk for serious illnessOpens In A New Window from this virus and for their loved ones. 

The goal is for everyone to be able to easily get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as large quantities are available. Several thousand vaccination providers will be available, including doctor's offices, retail pharmacies, hospitals and Federally-Qualified Health Centers. 

Who will receive the vaccine first in Pennsylvania once it is available?

?The department will work to get the vaccine out to Pennsylvanians in three phases, following the CDC guidelines regarding supply, demand and risk of the vaccine.

Phase 1: There may be limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses available in the first phase. Initial efforts will focus on reaching the following populations:

  • Healthcare personnel;
  • Emergency Medical Services first responders; and
  • Residents and staff of congregate care settings.

Phase 2: We anticipate a large number of vaccine doses available. Efforts will focus on ensuring access to vaccine for:

  • Phase 1 critical populations who were not yet vaccinated; and
  • General population.

Phase 3: In this phase, there should be a sufficient supply of vaccine doses for entire population. Efforts will focus on ensuring the entire population will have access to the vaccine.

What does “limited” supply mean?

Limited supply means there is not enough vaccine for the entire population of Pennsylvania.  

Right now, there is a limited supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The department will continue to provide updates on where vaccines are being distributed across the commonwealth on health.pa.gov. 

This means that not everyone will be able to be vaccinated right away. It is understandable how concerning this would be for people, especially for those who are at increased risk for serious illnessOpens In A New Window from this virus and for their loved ones.

Will the vaccine be mandatory?

?No, the department does not have any plans to make the vaccine mandatory.

Does getting the vaccine make you immune to COVID-19?

?Getting COVID-19 may offer some natural protection, known as immunity. But experts don't know how long this protection lasts, and the risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 far outweighs any benefits of natural immunity. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you by creating an antibody response without having to experience sickness.

Both natural immunity and immunity produced by a vaccine are important aspects of COVID-19 that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

Does PA have plans to join a joint group to review the vaccine safety?

No. Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine and Governor Tom Wolf are confident in the CDC, U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) review processes and that they will be safe and effective. 

Can you get the COVID-19 vaccine outside of your home state?

?Yes, you can get the vaccine outside of your home state. 

Is PA considering any scenarios where the vaccine would be mandated (e.g. working in congregate settings)?

?We have no plans to make the vaccine mandatory. 

How many vaccines might be multi-shot or single-shot vaccinations?

There are five U.S. COVID-19 vaccines in production right now from the following drug manufacturers: 

  • Moderna; 
  • AstraZeneca; 
  • Inovio; and 
  • Novavax.  

Of the five additional vaccines in production, four of the five in Operation Warp Speed (OWS)Opens In A New Window are two-dose vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19, which has received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA, is a two-dose vaccine as well.  

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single-dose vaccine. 

How many trials were completed and how successful were they? What side effects came out of the trials?

?Currently, clinical trials are evaluating investigational COVID-19 vaccines in many thousands of study participants to generate scientific data and other information for the FDA to determine their safety and effectiveness. These clinical trials are being conducted according to the rigorous standards set forth by FDA in their June 2020 guidance document, Development and Licensure of Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19Opens In A New Window. If FDA determines that a vaccine meets its safety and effectiveness standards, it can make these vaccines available for use in the United States by approval or emergency use authorization. 

What will the vaccine mean for Pennsylvanians and how will their lives be impacted?

The COVID-19 vaccine is another tool in our toolkit in the fight against COVID-19. People who are vaccinated still need to wear masks, wash hands, use hand sanitizer, social distance and avoid small and large gatherings. Individuals will be much more protected and can have that comfort that they will have a lesser chance to catch COVID-19 and/or a less severe case if they do get COVID-19. We anticipate it will take significant time to get through the vaccination phases and have community spread go down significantly. Until that time, we need everyone to continue all of the safety measures that are in effect now.

Can my kids get the COVID-19 vaccine?

The COVID-19 vaccines are not yet approved for children under the age of 16. More research is needed to make sure any COVID-19 vaccine will be safe and effective for infants, kids and teens.

How long will it take to distribute COVID-19 vaccines?

The department does not have a time-table of how long it will take to distribute COVID-19 vaccines across the commonwealth since there is only a limited supply of vaccine available at this time. Please note, Philadelphia county has received their own Federal allocation of vaccine. So, the timeline for vaccinating individuals in Philadelphia county may differ from the timeline for the rest of Pennsylvania.

Will PA be posting a map of locations where people can be vaccinated?

?The department will use the CDC's VaccineFinder portal to show where people can be vaccinated once the vaccine is available to a larger audience.

What are the vaccine phases and who will be vaccinated first?

The department's goal is to ensure every Pennsylvania who wants a vaccine can be vaccinated. At the advisement of the CDC, Pennsylvanian is prioritizing the order in which individuals are vaccinated to ensure those that are in most critical need are vaccinated first in accordance with recommendations of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The first populations to be offered the COVID-19 vaccine in the initial phase of the vaccination program will be health care workers, skilled nursing facilities residents and staff and other eligible facilities. These eligible facilities include assisted living, Continuing Care Retirement Communities, personal care homes, residential care, adult family home, adult foster home, Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Housing and Urban Development Section 202 and Veteran's homes.

Following these CDC guidelines, jurisdictions should anticipate that allocations may shift during the response based on supply, allocation and type of COVID19 vaccine.

Phase 1A: As instructed by CDC, Pennsylvania is planning for very small initial allocations of vaccine when product first becomes available. ACIP has recommended 1) health care personnel and 2) residents of long-term care facilities be offered vaccination in Phase 1A of the COVID-19 vaccination program. Pennsylvania is adopting these recommendations. The DOH recognizes the sub-prioritization approach recommended by ACIP, because initial vaccine allocation is expected to be scarce compared to the number of healthcare personnel in the state who would require vaccination, and there is expected to be a constrained supply environment for some months. In addition to the sub-prioritization endorsed by ACIP, DOH is including additional sub-prioritization categories to better inform providers to ensure ethical allocation of scarce vaccine. Initial allocation of vaccine in Phase 1A will be distributed to hospitals, which will be responsible for vaccinating healthcare personnel, and the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, which will be responsible for vaccinating residents and healthcare personnel who work in long-term care facilities.

The rest of the phases breakdown can be found in the Pennsylvania COVID-19 Interim Vaccination Plan on pages 10-17.

How long after the initial phase will additional vaccines be available?

We do not know many additional Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine allocations we will receive beyond what we are currently allocated.

Are nursing homes and long-term care facilities in phase 1 or phase 2?

The Federal government stood up a Federal Pharmacy Partnership program. Through this partnership, skilled nursing facilities and long-term care facilities and congregant care settings and their staff will be vaccinated.

How do healthcare workers know they’re eligible to get the vaccine?

The department wants to make sure that anyone who wants to get a COVID-19 vaccine can do so, but this is still developing at this time and will vary depending on the healthcare provider locations administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

When and where can I get it?

?Many providers are being enrolled and will be able to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. Many Pharmacies, Health centers, Doctor's offices, Urgent care centers, Mass vaccination clinics will be vaccine providers. The general public can be vaccinated in Phase 3. There is no specific timeline as to when this will be.

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