Time-sensitive COVID-19 vaccines could be delayed for scores of Pennsylvania residents after some providers inadvertently gave dedicated second-round shots to first-timers.

Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam made the announcement yesterday and called it a “perfect storm of circumstances," per The Morning Call. 

Barry Ciccocioppo, the Department of Health’s COVID-19 press secretary, told The Philadelphia Inquirer state officials are still working to figure out how it happened and how many providers made the mistake. 

As many as 100,000 Pennsylvanians could have their first- and second-dose appointments delayed over the next three weeks as a result.

But Beam sought to assure people in the latter group that second-round doses would still be administered within 42 days of their first, as recommended by the CDC. A newly formed joint task force with the legislature has made that a focus, she added.

THE CONTEXT: Pennsylvania lags much of the nation on metrics like the number of vaccine doses administered per 100,000 people and the percentage of on-hand doses already put into arms. 

Officials say comparisons like these are inherently unfair, given the state's aging population, the rapid expansion of the eligible pool here, and the vagaries of the federal supply chain. 

But frustration has continued to mount both inside the Capitol and across the state, with critics warning that the current pace of vaccine distribution is nowhere near quick enough. Yesterday's revelation that thousands of doses had been misallocated, likely over a period of weeks, did nothing to allay those concerns.

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