Posted: | January 29, 2021 05:42 PM |
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From: | Senator Michele Brooks and Sen. Kim L. Ward, Sen. Jake Corman |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | COVID-19 Vaccine Transparency Act |
We will soon be introducing legislation requiring the Pennsylvania Department of Health to increase its transparency by publicly reporting COVID-19 vaccine data on its website and to the General Assembly on a weekly basis. The “COVID-19 Vaccine Transparency Act” is needed to ensure that all Pennsylvanians are aware of the collated total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses received by the commonwealth from the federal government; the collated total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses distributed by county; and the collated total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered by county on an ongoing basis. This information will be published by county for every county except for Philadelphia County which has its own Department of Public Health and vaccine distribution process. The vaccine data reported will include the median number of days it took to administer the vaccine after receiving a shipment from the federal government. Additionally, we are concerned about vaccine waste given the length of time it has taken throughout the distribution process to administer available vaccine. This Act will also require that the department report the total number of vaccine doses lost by county and the reason for the waste. As we continue to monitor the efforts made by the department to distribute COVID-19 vaccine across the commonwealth, we believe that additional transparency is necessary to lessen the public’s concerns and ensure government accountability. Please join us in cosponsoring this important legislation. |