Expand AllClick here for a more accessible versionStopping a pandemic requires using all the tools available. Vaccines work with your immune system so your body will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed. Other steps, like wearing masks and social distancing, help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others. Together, COVID-19 vaccination and following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) recommendations to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from COVID-19.
The department will work to get the vaccine out to Pennsylvanians in three phases, following the CDC guidelines regarding supply, demand and risk of the vaccine.
Phase 1A:
- Healthcare personnel
- Emergency Medical Services first responders
- Residents and staff of congregate care settings
- People ages 65 and older
- People aged 16-64 with high risk conditions causing increased risk for severe disease
Phase 1B:
- People in congregate settings not otherwise specified as long-term care facilities, and persons receiving home and community-based services
- First responders
- Correctional officers and other workers serving people in congregate care settings not included in Phase 1A
- Food and agricultural workers
- U.S. Postal Service workers
- Manufacturing workers
- Grocery store workers
- Education workers
- Clergy and other essential support for houses of worship
- Public transit workers
- Individuals caring for children or adults in early childhood and adult day programs
Phase 1C:
- Essential workers in these sectors:
- Transportation and logistics
- Water and wastewater
- Food service
- Housing construction
- Finance, including bank tellers
- Information technology
- Communications
- Energy, including nuclear reactors
- Legal services
- Federal, state, county and local government workers, including county election workers, elected officials and members of the judiciary and their staff
- Media
- Public safety
- Public health workers
Phase 2: All individuals not previously covered who are 16 and older and do not have a contraindication to the vaccine (note that at this time, only the Pfizer-BioNTech product is approved for those age 16 and 17)
Limited supply means there is not enough vaccine for the entire population of Pennsylvania.
Right now, there is a limited supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine.
This means that not everyone will be able to be vaccinated right away. It is understandable how concerning this would be for people, especially for those who are at increased risk for serious illness from this virus and for their loved ones.
No, the department does not have any plans to make the vaccine mandatory.
Getting COVID-19 may offer some natural protection, known as immunity. But experts don't know how long this protection lasts, and the risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 far outweighs any benefits of natural immunity. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you by creating an antibody response without having to experience sickness.
Both natural immunity and immunity produced by a vaccine are important aspects of COVID-19 that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.
No. Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine and Governor Tom Wolf are confident in the CDC, U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) review processes and that they will be safe and effective.
Yes, you can get the vaccine outside of your home state.
We have no plans to make the vaccine mandatory.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which has received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA, is a two-dose vaccine.
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has also received an EUA from the FDA and is a two-dose vaccine.
The Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine was the most recent vaccine to receive an EUA from the FDA and is a single-dose vaccine.
There are three U.S. COVID-19 vaccines in production right now from the following drug manufacturers:
- AstraZeneca;
- Inovio; and
- Novavax.
The additional vaccines in production through Operation Warp Speed (OWS) are also two-dose vaccines.
Currently, clinical trials are evaluating investigational COVID-19 vaccines in many thousands of study participants to generate scientific data and other information for the FDA to determine their safety and effectiveness. These clinical trials are being conducted according to the rigorous standards set forth by FDA in their June 2020 guidance document, Development and Licensure of Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19. If FDA determines that a vaccine meets its safety and effectiveness standards, it can make these vaccines available for use in the United States by approval or emergency use authorization.
The COVID-19 vaccine is another tool in our toolkit in the fight against COVID-19. People who are vaccinated still need to wear masks, wash hands, use hand sanitizer, social distance and avoid small and large gatherings. Individuals will be much more protected and can have that comfort that they will have a lesser chance to catch COVID-19 and/or a less severe case if they do get COVID-19. We anticipate it will take significant time to get through the vaccination phases and have community spread go down significantly. Until that time, we need everyone to continue all of the safety measures that are in effect now.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is not yet approved for children under the age of 16. The Moderna COVID-19 and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccines are not yet approved for children under the age of 18. More research is needed to make sure any COVID-19 vaccine will be safe and effective for infants, kids and teens.
The department does not have a time-table of how long it will take to distribute COVID-19 vaccines across the commonwealth since there is only a limited supply of vaccine available at this time. Please note, Philadelphia County has received their own Federal allocation of vaccine. So, the timeline for vaccinating individuals in Philadelphia County may differ from the timeline for the rest of Pennsylvania.
The department will use the CDC's VaccineFinder portal to show where people can be vaccinated once the vaccine is available to a larger audience.
The department's goal is to ensure every Pennsylvanian who wants a vaccine can be vaccinated. At the advisement of the CDC, Pennsylvania is prioritizing the order in which individuals are vaccinated to ensure those that are in most critical need are vaccinated first in accordance with recommendations of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Phase 1A:
- Healthcare personnel
- Emergency Medical Services first responders
- Residents and staff of congregate care settings
- People ages 65 and older
- People aged 16-64 with high risk conditions causing increased risk for severe disease
The rest of the phases breakdown can be found in the Pennsylvania COVID-19 Interim Vaccination Plan.
We do not know many additional Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine allocations we will receive beyond what we are currently allocated.
The Federal government stood up a Federal Pharmacy Partnership program. Through this partnership, skilled nursing facilities and long-term care facilities and congregant care settings and their staff will be vaccinated.
The department wants to make sure that anyone who wants to get a COVID-19 vaccine can do so, but this is still developing at this time and will vary depending on the healthcare provider locations administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
Many providers are being enrolled and will be able to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. Many pharmacies, health centers, doctor's offices, urgent care centers, and mass vaccination clinics will be vaccine providers. The general public can be vaccinated in Phase 2. There is no specific timeline as to when this will be.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health continues to align with the CDC's list of medical conditions that place someone at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. At this time, those with medical conditions who CDC indicates might be at an increased risk are not defined into a particular phase of Pennsylvania's Interim COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. We will continue to review the information from the CDC as we move forward.
People who are fully vaccinated (having a single-shot vaccine or both doses of a two-dose vaccine) against COVID-19 do NOT need to quarantine after an exposure to another person with COVID-19 if they meet ALL of the following criteria:
- They are fully vaccinated (i.e., ≥2 weeks following receipt of the second dose in a 2-dose series, or ≥2 weeks following receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine);
- They are within 3 months following receipt of the last dose in the series; AND,
- They have remained asymptomatic since the current COVID-19 exposure.
This does NOT apply to inpatients or residents in healthcare settings.
Regardless of vaccination status, people who exhibit new or unexplained symptoms of COVID-19 still need to isolate and get tested for COVID-19.
Close contacts who have not received vaccine or who do not meet all of the above criteria must follow existing quarantine guidance.
DOH continues to recommend COVID-19 prevention measures such as masking, physical distancing, avoiding nonessential travel, and hand hygiene for all people regardless of vaccination status.