Pa. revises map that often led to dead ends for COVID-19 vaccine seekers - PennLive

Drawing people a map isn’t always a helpful thing.

A case in point has been Pennsylvania’s map of places that supposedly have COVID-19 vaccine. The state Department of Health’s map used green dots to indicate which health care providers had it in stock.

But after Pennsylvania opened the floodgates on vaccine demand two weeks ago by making everyone over 65 and many others instantly eligible, the map led to nowhere for many Pennsylvanians.

At some locations marked with a green dot, the supply was only for local health care providers. At others, doses available to non-health care workers were quickly claimed. Many locations, because of the paralyzing volume of calls, became unreachable.

Now the state has removed the green and red dots signifying vaccine supply status. As of Tuesday afternoon, it contains only blue dots.

The blue dots indicate providers that are part of the program to distribute COVID-19 vaccine. In most places, people can click on the dot to find contact information.

“The use of blue dots indicates where there are enrolled vaccine providers. Because in many cases only the providers know if they have appointments available or not, we felt that this change would be the best representation for the public. Anyone seeking to schedule an appointment should check with the provider to see if they have vaccine and appointments available,” state health department spokesman Barry Ciccocioppo said Tuesday afternoon.

Others have said the best way to get as close as possible to the front of the line for vaccine is to stay in close contact with your doctor.

About 4 million Pennsylvanians are eligible for COVID-19 vaccine, which is available to people 65 and over and people 16-64 with chronic medical conditions.

Still, the number of green dots — or at least green dots that stay green for any length of time — is likely to remain small for weeks.

Pennsylvania this week is expecting about 160,000 doses for people receiving their first dose. The state is receiving an additional amount for people who received their first dose three weeks ago.

Some of the 160,000 doses are reserved for health care workers, although most of them have been vaccinated, and health care providers such as large health systems are transitioning to making more of their allocations available to non-health care workers.

Another portion of the 160,000 doses is going to people living in long-term care facilities. State officials expect it will take until around the end of February to finish vaccinating them.

State health officials hold out hope the supply of vaccine from the federal government will grow substantially by the week. Still, the math makes it clear it will take many weeks to vaccinate all Pennsylvanians who are presently eligible.

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