Last Updated: May 13, 2021
By Denise A. Johnson, MD, FACOG, FACHE
Pennsylvania Acting Physician General
Thank you Pennsylvania physicians for all of your ongoing dedicated work especially during this pandemic. You have all made adjustments to your practices and lives to continue to care for your patients. As we move into a focus on increasing vaccination in Pennsylvania we solicit your assistance.
After a period of vaccine requests outpacing supply, we are now noting a “softening” of demand. Part of this is due to access, but there is also an element of hesitancy. We have heard from many sources, that individuals truly value the advice of their personal physicians. Knowing that most of you advocate for Covid-19 vaccination and have likely already been vaccinated, I ask you to encourage your patients to also receive their vaccinations. This week’s approval for the Pfizer vaccine to be used to vaccinate adolescents between 12 and 15 years old is another major step in the vaccination process and a major opportunity for physicians’ offices to get involved in the vaccination effort.
In March, the Department of Health announced a shift to a focused network of 200-300 providers to help get residents vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible. That temporary focused network of providers was selected based on geographic reach; access for residents; equity across demographics; vaccine throughput; and estimated demand.
The plan had always been to expand the distribution of vaccine to more providers as the supply of vaccine caught up to demand. We are now keeping with that plan by expanding the network of providers and allocating vaccine to more providers, including physicians’ offices, each week. Pediatricians are especially important now.
If you are an enrolled provider and you can handle full trays of vaccine we will work to get you vaccine. The first step to getting vaccine is for all providers to request it by using the weekly request survey that opens on Saturdays at 8 a.m. and closes on Tuesday at 8 p.m. All providers who requested vaccine just last week should now be receiving deliveries. If you have questions about the enrollment process, reach out to the department at ra-dhcovidvax@pa.gov. We are also working on connecting with other providers so that smaller quantities can be delivered.
We want to thank all vaccine providers who are working hard to get vaccine to Pennsylvanians. With your help, we are getting closer to defeating this virus.