Pennsylvania will enter Phase 1C of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, making more people eligible. But with more people able to get vaccinated, will there be enough appointments available? NBC10’s Steven Fisher has the story.
What to Know
- Millions of people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware are eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine.
- Doses will be available to everyone 16 and older as of April 19. Delaware has already opened up vaccines to all adults.
- In New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, workers in certain professions are eligible to sign-up for a vaccine.
As states in the Philadelphia region ramp up their vaccine programs to meet President Joe Biden's new goal of eligibility for all American adults by April 19, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware are expanding who can sign up for the vaccine this week.
All the local states have already opened up vaccines to older adults and people 16 and older with certain medical conditions.
By next week, Philadelphia and New Jersey will all be offering vaccines to all adults. Delaware has already opened up its vaccine program to everyone in the state who is 16 and older. And, Pennsylvania plans on opening up eligibility to everyone on Tuesday.
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Here is who is now eligible for the vaccine in the tristate area:
What Is the Vaccine Eligibility in the Pennsylvania Suburbs?
As of Monday, every person in Pennsylvania's Phase 1C became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. That group includes essential workers in the following professions:
- Communications
- Energy, including nuclear reactors
- Federal, state, county and local government workers, including county election workers, elected officials and members of the judiciary and their staff
- Finance, including bank tellers
- Food service
- Housing construction
- Information technology
- Legal services
- Media
- Public health workers
- Public safety
- Transportation and logistics
- Water and wastewater
Everyone in the 1B group – including agriculture workers, clergy, firefighters, food workers, grocery store employees, law enforcement workers and postal workers – became eligible in the past couple weeks.
Anyone 65 and older is already eligible for the vaccine in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania makes every adult eligible on April 13, NBC10 has learned.
Click here to visit Pennsylvania's Coronavirus vaccine site.
Vaccines are being given out at mass vaccines sites, pop-up vaccine events and pharmacies. Be patient as demand is expected to increase as more people become eligible to make an appointment.
As of Friday, more than 6 million vaccine doses had been given in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf said.
Who Is Eligible for the Coronavirus Vaccine in Philadelphia?
As of Monday, all Philadelphians in Phase 1C became eligible for COVID vaccines.
Those newly eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine are:
- Construction workers
- Election Board workers
- Finance: public facing, non-remote positions in the finance industry
- Government workers
- Higher education staff
- IT & telecommunications workers
- Landscaping workers
- Legal industry
- Members of the press
- People receiving home and community-based services as defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
- Public health workers
- Social services workers
- Transportation workers such as airport and train workers and taxi or rideshare drivers
- Unpaid caregivers of medically vulnerable people
Other in Phase 1C -- including sanitation workers, maintenance and janitorial staff, utility workers and postal and package delivery workers -- were already eligible.
Healthy Philadelphians ages 65 and older are already eligible for the coronavirus vaccination in the city.
People in the expanded age group should register on the official vaccine interest form to be added to the vaccination queue. After registering, they'll receive notification from the city in the coming days or weeks when it is time to schedule their first vaccination appointment.
There are now over 220 locations, including pharmacies, hospitals and the new FEMA mas vaccine site at Esperanza in Hunting Park
Philadelphia will open eligibility to all adults on April 19.
Philadelphia's top health official, Dr. Thomas Farley, has implored all eligible residents, particularly those 65 and older, to get the vaccine as soon as possible because the city's case count continues to rise amid a possible new spike of the pandemic.
Who Can Now Get a Coronavirus Vaccine in New Jersey?
New Jersey is opening up COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to those 16 or older beginning April 19, Gov. Phil Murphy said.
Murphy, a Democrat, said the expansion comes two weeks ahead of plan and added that it’s the “right time to put our program into higher gear.”
As of now, clergy, election workers, judicial workers, utility workers and people in dozens of other professions are eligible.
Murphy has put forth a goal to get 70% of the state’s adult population, or 4.7 million people, vaccinated by the end of June.
As of Sunday morning, New Jersey had given out around 5.4 million vaccine doses, Murphy said. Nearly 2.2 million people were fully vaccinated.
Who Can Sign-Up for Coronavirus Vaccine in Delaware?
If you are 16 or older in Delaware you can sign up for a dose.
Democratic Gov. John Carney announced the expansion of the state's coronavirus vaccine registration to all adults and older teens last month.
The shots will be given at pharmacies and community and state vaccination sites.
Anyone 16 and older can register for the vaccine waiting list at vaccinerequest.delaware.gov.
"Invitations to state vaccination events will be contingent on supply and prioritized based on age and other risk factors, including pre-existing medical conditions," the state said in a news release.
How Effective are Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca Vaccines? Is the One-Shot Vaccine Available in NJ, Pa., Del.?
For more answers on the coronavirus vaccine rollout, including the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, check out our Q&A. And check out this Q&A about the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.
