WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — UPMC has been vaccinating folks in the Susquehanna region since the middle of January. So far, UPMC has vaccinated over 12,000 people in central Pennsylvania.
"That is a great number. We have rural communities. We are kind of a smaller based population compared to other parts of our state, so I think that is a great number for us," said Heather Stafford of UPMC Susquehanna.
On April 19th, all adult Pennsylvanians will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. UPMC officials tell Newswatch 16 that in the coming weeks, folks will be able to schedule their own vaccination appointment online at vaccine.upmc.com.
"It will still be based on vaccine availability. So, we will be building our clinic schedules out with a certain number of appointments that are available based on the number of vaccines we have, so we still want to ensure if you have an appointment, you can be assured that you indeed have a vaccine," said Stafford.
However, even though the state is expanding the qualifications for the vaccine, folks above age 65 or those with an underlying condition who have not gotten their shots will be prioritized.
"So even though the website is a first-come, first-served basis. There are some key questions that are answered regarding the phases. So we would prioritize the 1A groups if there are still some stragglers out there," said Stafford.
Every week the health care system has to put in an order to the Department of Health for vaccines. The amount ordered will most likely increase as demand for the vaccine rises in the coming weeks.
"We are not getting the indication from our partners at the Department of Health that there will be any sort of delay or decrease in our requests," said Stafford.
You can find more details about when you're eligible for the vaccine on the Pennsylvania Department of Health's website.