HARRISBURG – Since the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in Pennsylvania over a week ago, over 41,000 healthcare workers have received their first doses. That’s according to PA Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine who says every healthcare worker that wants to be vaccinated will be vaccinated.
She said they’ll get he shot whether they are affiliated with a hospital or not, “As hospitals are able to vaccinate their high-risk workers, it is very important that they continue to vaccinate healthcare workers facing the same risks in their own workplace such as EMS providers, non-affiliated physicians and their staff, and other stakeholders.”
Levine says EMS providers are called to care for people experiencing a health crisis and who need immediate care, “While EMS workers do take steps to protect themselves, including wearing PPE, they are walking into unknown situations and are really our frontline first responders. So my message today to hospitals, is to start to reach out and to work together with EMS providers and the agencies, as well as other non-affiliated healthcare providers, and work to get them vaccinated as soon as possible.”
Dr. Levine says that as the vaccination process gets underway, it will be months before the vaccine manufacturers can produce enough to immunize the general public. She says mitigation efforts right now, is more important than ever.
