Gov. Tom Wolf Pushes Equity In COVID-19 Vaccine Access
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - While Pennsylvania has been doing better than most other states in getting vaccinated against COVID, Gov. Tom Wolf says the state has been lagging in equity.
Nearly 13 million COVID vaccinations have been administered in Pennsylvania, but lower income groups have been vaccinated at lower rates.
Wolf was at a community health center in Harrisburg Wednesday. It's one of many health care facilities across the state hosting vaccine clinics this weekend. The governor says that's part of making vaccine distribution more equitable.
Right now there are more than 3,000 vaccine locations in Pennsylvania, and Wolf has gone to several of them to make what he calls a sales pitch to vaccinate everyone who's eligible.
"Getting every eligible Pennsylvanian vaccinated is our strategy. That's the way we're going to get out of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the one scientifically proven way to end this pandemic. Let me remind you, vaccines are safe, they're effective, they work and they're free."
Wolf says Pennsylvania's vaccine distribution has been working. The latest numbers show 73 percent of eligible Pennsylvanians have received at least one vaccine dose. That's the seventh most of all the states.