The Pennsylvania Department of Health has switched gears in its vaccine allocation process, which has reduced the supply to rural areas such as Carbon County.

Beginning Monday, a “focused network of 200-300 providers” were sent more first doses of vaccine.

“For people in rural areas, it means that a vaccine provider will be located within approximately 30 miles and that the providers receiving first doses of vaccine will have more vaccine available,” said Barry Ciccocioppo, DOH Communications Director.

However, the initiative could affect accessibility for rural residents who are hoping to get vaccinated.

“Is it any wonder Pennsylvania continues to rank so low nationally in vaccine deployment when decisions like this are made by bureaucrats sitting at a desk in Harrisburg?” said state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon.

“The department says this plan was devised to ensure a more equitable distribution of the vaccine. Why should Carbon County now have to suffer for the inadequacies of the Wolf administration to distribute them?”

Fewer locations supplied with vaccine could mean more travel for state residents who are actively seeking an appointment.

Before the switch, Joseph Pinto, Chief Operating Officer of St. Luke’s Carbon, said over 7,000 vaccines were distributed from St. Luke’s Lehighton.

In fact, Carbon County has plenty of residents eligible for vaccine. According to department of health numbers from 2019, Carbon’s resident age group of 65-plus is 3% higher than the rest of the commonwealth.

Additionally, compared to the rest of the state, Carbon County has about the average number of vaccine-eligible residents who are either smokers, obese or overweight.

“Essentially, while the supply of vaccine remains extremely limited, instead of giving very few doses to a lot of different providers each week we will be giving larger quantities of vaccine to fewer providers,” Ciccocioppo added.

The DOH news release said, “The selection process took into account the ability to administer a high volume of first doses within seven days of delivery, while maintaining equity across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines as well as the ability to capture and report vaccine administration data within 24 hours.”

We had a good system in place that was ready to ramp up and more than triple the number of vaccines. Now, instead of getting shots in arms with efficiency, Carbon County residents will have to travel out of the county or wait for weeks to get their vaccine. I fail to see how the administration’s new plan is all about ‘equity,’ as they claim,” Heffley said.

According to a vaccine data map on the DOH website, as of Monday afternoon, six providers are administering vaccinations in Carbon County: both Rite Aid locations in Lehighton and one in Lansford, Rite Aid in Palmerton, St. Luke’s Miners in Coaldale and Mauch Chunk Pharmacy in Jim Thorpe.

“The providers in the focused group were selected based on an extensive analysis to ensure that at least 95 percent of the state is covered and that the providers receiving large quantities of vaccine are located within a 2-mile radius in urban areas, 5 miles in suburban areas and 30 miles in rural areas,” Ciccocioppo said.

DOH statistics illustrate that Pennsylvania residents ages 65-69 are the group who is most fully covered by vaccine, while ages 70-74 are not far behind.

On a positive note for local residents, Terrence Purcell, president of Lehigh Valley Health Network Carbon, said there will be mobile vehicles from LVHN administering vaccines at senior centers in Lehighton, Palmerton and Lansford on Thursday. Details have not been released yet.

The DOH stated that the temporary narrowed network of vaccine providers is designed to reach people with different needs and preferences using a mix of provider types that include pharmacies, hospitals, federally qualified health centers and public health providers.

“This is a temporary shift until the supply of vaccine catches up to demand. At that point vaccine will be available for all of the providers,” Ciccocioppo added.

Testing

In other COVID-19 related news, the DOH announced Monday that it opened a weeklong free drive-thru COVID testing site for the general public in neighboring Luzerne County.

The site is available through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare and the Wilkes-Barre Health Department.

Site location is at the St. Robert Bellarmine Church, Wilkes-Barre, and will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. concluding on Saturday.

“The virus is still present in our communities, which reinforces the need for continued testing across the state,” Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said. “We encourage anyone who feels they need or want a test to take advantage of all COVID-19 testing clinics if they feel they have been exposed to COVID-19. Much of the news and attention has shifted to COVID-19 vaccines, but testing is still the best way to determine your exposure to and to ultimately stop the spread of COVID-19.”