All Pennsylvanians 16 and up are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, a significant milestone in the state's months-long and turbulent rollout. 

Open eligibility was originally due to start next week, but state officials said lagging demand led them to push that timeline up. 

"We realized the need to keep the demand at its highest propensity possible was incredibly important," Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam told reporters. 

It's unclear how soon appointments will be booked for all who want them, but the state said more providers will be added to the supply chain, which has about 2,800 total vendors but only 230 that are currently getting doses, per The Morning Call.

State officials want 80% of the eligible population vaccinated when all is said and done. Nearly 50% has been so far, according to the CDC. Short-term hurdles remain, namely fluctuations in vaccine production and the federal supply. But experts say long-term hurdles may be the largest.

THE CONTEXT: At some point, vaccine supply will outstrip demand as vaccine-motivated people get their shots and the remaining pool becomes reflexively and mathematically more resistant.

Aware that this looming dynamic — the so-called "vaccine wall" — has big implications for herd immunity and our return to normal, the White House is running PSAs on NASCAR broadcasts, Country Music Television, and shows like "Deadliest Catch."

In Pennsylvania, the state is planning a media blitz of its own, while also partnering with "trusted messengers" like grassroots and community groups, health care providers, and unions to share vaccine information, The Inquirer reports. 

For vaccine providers, check Spotlight PA's map and county-by-county listing. 

» Learn something from today's edition? Pay it forward so someone else can tomorrow by making a contribution of any amount to Spotlight PA.

LONG HAUL: Aspinwall resident Tim Geary is hiking 2,193 miles through 14 states, including Pennsylvania, on the iconic Appalachian Trail — a melanoma research fundraiser for his wife who died last year. "We talked about this before she died," Geary told TribLive. "She wanted me to have a plan."

CRIMINAL TROVE: A retired FBI profiler and forensic linguist has donated thousands of documents on Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, to California University of Pennsylvania. The school plans to digitize the records and make them available to researchers, per the AP.

SCARY MOVIE: The legend of a haunted Brentwood home is closer to becoming a movie, with a screenwriter now chosen, per Pittsburgh City Paper. If you want a preview, you can rent a room at the actual house. The former occupant says it's "clean" of evil and has a "Downton Abbey" feel.

FISH FOOD: At least somebody's excited about the cicadas. Pennsylvania anglers say the incoming brood of insects will make great bait. "It’s like a steak to these fish," one told Erie Times-News. "Like a big filet mignon." Good to know it's not just my yellow lab.

TIL: Philadelphia's Swann Memorial Fountain is named for a man who thought water fountains could curb alcoholism and its location was once used for public executions. Billy Penn has more on the Philly icon here.