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All counties are not created equal, at least not when it comes to vaccine distribution.
The number of doses of COVID-19 vaccine distributed county-to-county varies widely across the state, according to a USA Today network analysis of the first eight weeks of vaccine distribution data provided by the state.
Department of Health Senior Advisor Lindsey Mauldin stressed last week that equity is important when it comes to distributing vaccine. It s important to remember that the Pennsylvania Department of Health is responsible for 66 counties, Maudlin said. We have to maintain equity across those counties.
But that isn t happening.
The median number of vaccine doses received by 65 counties not including the highest and lowest recipients is 1,138 doses per 10,0000 residents. That includes all vaccine sent to medical centers, doctors offices, independent pharmacies and through the Retail Pharmacy Partnership that makes shots accessible to the public at various grocery
Since Pennsylvania received its first doses of the coronavirus vaccine in December, health executives have called on the state to create a centralized registration portal to help people schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments.
Yet, the Department of Health stands firm in its opposition to this idea, claiming that it would not solve the primary challenge faced by Pennsylvania right now, which is a limited supply of the vaccine.
Department of Health Senior Adviser Lindsey Mauldin said that the commonwealth is not considering a centralized vaccination registration system currently. We’re dealing with a limited supply of vaccine coming into Pennsylvania. This is a problem that is happening all over the country, Mauldin said during a news briefing Tuesday. So a centralized registration wouldn’t help with that issue.