Dr. Rachel Levine: 'Today is a great day,' but vaccine's arrival doesn't end pandemic

As Pennsylvania officials on Monday celebrated the first vaccinations of health care workers against covid-19 , Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine reiterated warnings this is the first step in a long road to the end of the pandemic.

“Today is just a great day, when we start immunizing people,” Levine said during a virtual news conference.

But it’s also just a start, and it comes as Pennsylvania nears the 500,000-case milestone since the pandemic began.

As of Monday morning, 12,600 deaths have been reported in the state and that total is more than a number, Levine said.

“Each of these deaths represents a life lost too soon,” she said.

Health care systems across the commonwealth are nearing their capacities, Levine said. She said health care workers are overworked with nearly 6,000 people in hospitals, more than 1,200 in intensive care and more than 670 people on ventilators.

“We have to work together to protect them,” Levine said of health care workers.

Every Pennsylvanian needs to look at the latest mitigation efforts as “an opportunity to buy us time” to halt the disease, Levine said.

“Mitigation is more important than ever,” she said.

The first immunizations by UPMC in Pittsburgh mark “a new chapter in this fight,” but it is far from ending any time soon, Levine said.

More than 97,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to be distributed in the state this week.

The vaccines are being distributed first to health care workers and first responders under a phased plan. To see the plan, click here.

Levine and Gov. Tom Wolf are asking for more federal assistance to pay for the vaccine distribution process. The current federal funding of $14.6 million for Pennsylvania amounts to about $1 per person and it “is insufficient to complete this mission,” Levine said.

“We will stand hopeful that the money will be forthcoming,” she said.

Also on Monday, Wolf joined New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in publicly asking for a robust federal relief package.

Until the pandemic is under control, people need to follow the basic guidelines Levine has talked about since March: Wear a mask, wash hands and avoid groups of people, she said.

“We need people to stand united in Pennsylvania to stop the spread of the virus,” she said.

Businesses that don’t abide by the latest mitigation orders will be investigated by the state Liquor Control Board and Department of Agriculture and will face punishments, she said.

The decision to halt indoor dining was made because people don’t wear masks when they’re eating and the ventilation in restaurants and bars makes it easier to spread covid in them, she said.

“I am asking everyone to work with us,” Levine said. “We’re all in this together. Now, more than ever in these winter months, we need people to show personal and collective responsibilities.

“Freedom is associated with a personal and collective responsibility to help each other and to work toward the common good.”