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Jason Kunzman, chief program officer of the JCC agreed.
“We could not be more pleased, more humbled, more honored, about the partnership, about our role in promoting and supporting public health,” he said.
Staff assists individuals lined up to receive vaccination against COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh
With Pennsylvania set to open vaccination eligibility to everyone 16 and older on April 19, both the JCC and the Squirrel Hill Health Center are preparing for increased activity.
During the first few months of 2021, vaccination supply was “very uncertain” and the Squirrel Hill Health Center lacked the capacity to vaccinate large numbers of people, according to Friedberg Kalson. “That has all changed in recent weeks.”
More than a month into the rollout, the Pennsylvania Health Department hasn’t done any targeted outreach on the vaccine to communities that don’t speak English, many of whom have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
The Wolf administration threw cold water Wednesday on the idea of a one-stop-shop system that would help people schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments, which some health executives are advocating as a way to manage the mad scramble for shots that has eligible residents signing up with multiple providers.
MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press
The Wolf administration threw cold water Wednesday on the idea of a one-stop-shop system that would help people schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments, which some health executives are advocating as a way to manage the mad scramble for shots that has eligible residents signing up with multiple providers.
A centralized registration portal would present significant technical hurdles, and would not solve the primary challenge faced by Pennsylvania and every other state the lack of supply, said Alison Beam, the acting health secretary.
“There is not enough vaccine, with or without a registration system, and a registration system won’t fix that limiting factor,” Beam said at a House Health Committee hearing.