It’s a classic Catch-22 problem. Health professionals are pleading with us to get the COVID-19 vaccine shots when it’s our turn, but for many in the early groups, particularly senior citizens, high-risk individuals and those in critical jobs, even getting an appointment has been maddeningly frustrating.

To try to tackle this snafu once and for all, the Wolf administration and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers are forming a vaccine task force that will try to break the logjam to allow the vaccine to get into the arms of Pennsylvanians more quickly.

Another major step taken last weekend is a new mandate requiring all statewide vaccine providers to administer 80% of the first doses they receive within the first seven days of delivery. Doses had been held back to administer second shots, but now the state says there will be second shots when needed, so few will be held back.

Additionally, the state will also reduce the number of providers from about 1,700 to perhaps 200 or 300. At a news conference Friday, Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said the distribution network will be limited “to those who have demonstrated success.”

This certainly will include the two major health providers in our area - Lehigh Valley and St. Luke’s University Health Networks, along with county health departments, other health care networks, such as Geisinger, and pharmacies. According to Beam, these providers will be rated and receive vaccine supplies based on how well they perform.

The supply of vaccine and the state’s spotty distribution system have conspired to slow efforts to vaccinate about 4 million eligible Pennsylvanians in the current 1A phase, but only about one-quarter of those in this category have gotten even one of the two required doses.

Local officials, state legislators and health agencies have been bombarded by attempted inquiries about when these eligible Pennsylvanians can get on the schedule.

I say “attempted,” because even getting through to hotlines or dedicated call-in numbers is an exercise in frustration. People complain about either not getting through, being put on hold forever or encountering recorded messages saying that their call can’t be completed.

The state unveiled a “My Turn” app with great fanfare, but, quite frankly, several people in our area who went through the process of answering the online questions wound up with either a message that they were or were not eligible “at this time.”

Even if eligible, they received this message: “Although it’s your turn to get a COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine supply is still limited, and you may have to wait to receive a vaccine. View the vaccine provider map to find a provider near you that has vaccine. Please contact the provider/facility directly to check if they have any appointments as not all providers are vaccinating people eligible in Phase 1A.”

The map contains a series of blue dots which, when accessed, gives a location where the vaccine might be available.

Now, they are right back to where they started - trying to get through to any of these potential providers.

Wolf and legislative leaders, along with health care dispensers, are frustrated, too. They have been unable to get enough vaccine to supply the demand, and they are constantly being told that things are going to get better in a few weeks, that we need to be patient.

Because we are told that getting the vaccine could be a life-or-death situation, can you blame people for being angry and upset?

The task force will include members of Wolf’s administration who are involved in the state’s vaccine effort, and both Republican and Democratic House and Senate members.

Wolf acknowledged the shortcomings. “We need to do a better job in Pennsylvania. That is not a mystery. That’s not something that I am at all reluctant to acknowledge,” Wolf said at a recent media briefing, while also stressing that Pennsylvania, like every other state, needs more vaccine.

Pennsylvania ranks 41st in the number of shots given for each 100,000 people. The state is also 43rd in the percentage of allocated vaccine doses administered.

State health officials say these numbers are deceiving, because Pennsylvania is holding back second doses while some other states are using all of their supply of vaccine as quickly as possible with the expectation that the second doses will arrive on time when needed.

As of the end of last week, there had been 1,523,510 doses administered in the state, including 356,108 who have gotten both doses.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com