It's no secret Erie is seeing its share of COVID-19 vaccination distribution troubles, the slow vaccine rollout is happening across Pennsylvania.

In fact, Erie News Now learned Friday that Pennsylvania ranks high on the list of one of the worst states in the nation for its vaccination rollout efforts.

So far, Pennsylvania's received 2.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

And as of Friday morning, 1.1 million doses have made it into the arms of Pennsylvanians.

That's just about 50%. So there is a lot of questions as to why the number of vaccinations isn't higher.

Pennsylvania ranks around 45th in the nation when it comes to administering doses of the vaccine that have been allocated to them.

Senior Adviser with the PA Department of Health, Lindsey Mauldin, says the limited supply of vaccine is to blame for handcuffing the state's mass vaccination efforts.

This, despite the fact that there is 1.1 million doses just waiting to be administered.

Critics are pointing to surrounding states which have been much more successful with the same supply.

Mauldin says they continue to evaluate what can be done to improve the process, “We are working to make our systems more accessible, to make information and education more accessible to the public. But as we do that, we ask for folks to stay patient. We're working with our partners at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and our partners at county government to help figure out how we might be able to make this distribution more effortless, more efficient, and more equitable."

Calling in the National Guard

And as Pennsylvania continues to struggle getting COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of its residents, the state legislature is advancing a bill which could help.

House Bill 326 calls on the Pennsylvania National Guard to step in and help with the vaccine rollout. They would be tasked with establishing community vaccination sites across the commonwealth.

The plans in the legislation could then be implemented to help with vaccine distribution and administration.

More than two dozen states are currently using the National Guard to help with vaccine distribution.

Pennsylvania is not one of them, and lawmakers say that's a problem, “That has been the number one phone call that we get right now is, ‘How do I get my vaccine, where do I go? Rural communities feel like they're being left out. The National Guard, working with our providers in logistics is just going to be phenomenal. So it's something that we have to do," said Rep. Clint Owlett a Republican who represents Bradford, Tioga, and Potter counties.

The bill passed the House Friday morning with unanimous bipartisan support. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.