More than 600 skilled nursing facilities across the state have received first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 315,000 doses have been administered in all long-term care facilities being vaccinated by CVS and Walgreens.

In a virtual news conference Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf called reaching those numbers a milestone in the state's efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“This is an important milestone for Pennsylvania, and it marks key progress in ensuring that our most vulnerable residents have access to a vaccine,” Wolf said. “Skilled nursing, personal care, and assisted living facilities have been hit hard by the pandemic.”

He said vaccine deliveries delayed last week due to winter storms across the country should arrive by the end of this week.

The state has received 3 million doses of vaccine, but its population of people 65 and older, who are included in the Phase 1A vaccination plan, is 4.5 million, Wolf said.

“We're making progress vaccinating the most vulnerable,” he said.

He noted that a year ago, the state hadn't detected its first positive case of the virus.

“We still have a long way to go. We've made tremendous progress over the past year,” Wolf said.

Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said the mission is to complete vaccinations of seniors at long-term care facilities.

“We are not finished with the long-term care vaccination mission,” Beam said. “Each facility will have at least three vaccination clinics so we can ensure that as many residents and staff who want to get vaccinated have the opportunity. This way, if someone declined the vaccine in the first or second opportunity, they'll have another chance.”

Andreas Chandra of CVS Health said more than 200,000 first and second doses of vaccine have been provided to 500 skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities should receive their second doses by mid-March.

In licensed nursing and personal care homes, there are 66,173 cases among residents and 12,838 cases among employees. Out of total deaths, 12,256 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities. About 24,462 of the total cases in the state are among health care workers.

Through Feb. 22, local vaccine providers have administered 2,034,123 doses of vaccine. From the 1,836,065 allocation of first doses, 1,474,479 people, or 80%, have been vaccinated. From the 1,336,835 allocation of second doses, 559,644 people, or 42%, have been vaccinated and are fully vaccinated.

The state's total allocation through Feb. 27 is 3,172,900 doses. Of that number, 2,034,123 doses had been administered as of Feb. 22.

This week, Pennsylvania has been allocated 225,890 first doses, the highest single-week allotment of first doses the state has received so far. It is an increase of more than 42,000 doses. In addition, the state has been allocated 180,610 second doses, an increase of nearly 40,000.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported that 1,963 people, mostly age 65 and older, are hospitalized and 418 of them are in intensive care.

The 14-day average number of hospitalized patients per day is about 3,700 lower than it was at the peak on Dec. 25, 2020, but is just below what it was at the height of the spring peak on May 3, 2020.

The recovery rate reached 89% from 85% three weeks ago.

The department also reported 2,830 new confirmed cases, raising the total to 917,848, and 97 new deaths, raising the total to 23,711, across the state.

In the county, two new deaths and 11 new cases were reported, raising the totals to 8,824 and 365, respectively.