As Pennsylvania hit another record Thursday with 7,126 new cases, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said vaccines to help prevent COVID-19 are in the works.

However, most Pennsylvanians should not expect to be vaccinated for many months.

Levine discussed plans for three distribution phases during a news conference Thursday.

“We are in for a very challenging time, which is why we are talking about containment and mitigation and emphasizing how things are,” Levine said. “We anticipate that we are going to be rolling this out through the winter and then the spring and into the summer.

“The first phase will focus on reaching critical populations due to the limited supply. This will include health care personnel, EMS first responders, critical workers maintaining core functions and essential workers, people 65 and over, and residents in congregate care settings.”

Levine said that there may be a limited supply when vaccines first become available. However, it might be a different story during Phase 2.

”In the second phase, we anticipate that there will be larger number of vaccines available,” said Levine. “This will allow us to ensure that those in Phase 1, who are not yet vaccinated, can do so. Then we will start expanding our efforts to vulnerable populations and those of people with health conditions who may be at high risk.”

Levine said the third phase of the vaccination process will begin when there’s a “sufficient supply” of the vaccine or vaccines. “In this phase, we will begin to ensure the entire population has access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination,” she said.

According to Levine, Pfizer, who is working with the German company BioNTech, and Moderna, are the two companies close to finishing “Phase 3” of their respective trials.

“Soon after Phase 3 is complete, both companies will request an emergency use authorization through the FDA. Once the FDA completes their review about the vaccines, the FDA will grant an EUA, or this emergency use authorization. The CDC will then review and provide recommendations for the vaccines. Once approved, the department will work to ensure that the vaccines are distributed from manufacturers to providers.”

There is no specific target start date for any vaccine to become available.

“We anticipate, again this is all through the federal government, that the Pfizer vaccine will come out sometime in December,” Levine said.

“We anticipate Moderna vaccine perhaps in late December or the beginning of January. Then there will be a phased rollout of the vaccine, as I’ve been describing.”

Levine anticipates protocols such as mask-wearing to be the norm through 2021, and possibly for the entire duration of the new year. She said the state is ready, but more funding is necessary.

“We stand ready to distribute and administer the vaccines. … But we do need more funding. The CDC and Fed Gov authorize $340M to the states. That in contrasting to about $8-12 billion for the development of the vaccine. $340 million for all of the states not enough to be able to accomplish this prodigious task. We are calling upon the federal government and CDC to provide more funding for the distribution, administration and communication about the vaccine.”

There are other major companies working on vaccinations, according to Levine.

“First of all, there is going to be more that one vaccine; we’re anticipating at least two; the Pfizer and the Moderna,” Levine said.

“There are four more in the pipeline. Two that are having clinical trials ongoing right now and then two that haven’t even started clinical trials yet. Five of the six require two doses; including the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine.

“One, the Johnson & Johnson would only be one dose. And as I mentioned previously, the Pfizer vaccine has to be kept at minus-80 degrees Celsius, which presents many logistical challenges.”

The Moderna vaccine will have a wider distribution, because it can be kept in a refrigerator.

However, during the beginning, it won’t be simple such as going to a local CVS or Rite Aid for a flu shot.

“In terms of the Pfizer vaccine, they won’t be going to pharmacies at first,” said Levine. “They are going to actually be going to hospitals and health systems; particularly those that are able to do mass vaccinations to a lot of people and those that have the refrigeration technology to be able to take the vaccine at minus 80 degrees Celsius.”