Vaccine eligibility quiz released by Pa. health department
Not sure if you qualify yet for the coronavirus vaccine? Don’t know where to get it if you do qualify?
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has released a vaccine eligibility quiz to answer those questions. The quiz gauges a person’s age and if they are living in a nursing or long-term care facility. If the quiz-taker is deemed eligible, they can check for a vaccine provider nearby to make an appointment.
This week, department of health officials expanded vaccine eligibility to those 65 and older and others ages 16 to 64 with serious underlying medical conditions, such as cancer and sickle cell disease. That list also includes pregnant women.
The vaccine has been available to frontline health care workers and those in skilled nursing facilities since December. Others, including first responders and teachers, have started receiving it in recent weeks and it is available to all types of health care workers, including chiropractors and dentists.
While the groups of people eligible for the vaccine have expanded, the supply has not increased, according to state and local officials. Pennsylvania remains in the Phase 1A of the plan, though some local pharmacies have begun vaccinating other groups.
About 341,000 people have gotten the first dose of the vaccine in Pennsylvania, according to state data. Nearly 68,500 have gotten both shots needed for full protection. Pennsylvania has about 12.8 million residents.
In Westmoreland County, 9,366 people have gotten the first shot and 59 have received both doses. More than 35,000 in Allegheny have gotten the first shot and 7,500 are fully protected, according to state data.
Dozens of pharmacies are listed in both counties as being vaccine providers, as well as hospitals and health systems. They are sorted by those that have vaccine availability and others that don’t. Most pharmacies didn’t have any supply of the vaccine as of Wednesday, according to information provided by the state.
The quiz is available at pa.gov/guides/get-vaccinated.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.