Allegheny County Reports 887 New COVID-19 Cases In Past 48 Hours; Most Pennsylvanians Still Months From Vaccine Shots

Pittsburgh PA

12 January, 2021

10:50 AM

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Public Source By PublicSource reporters | January 11, 2021 The Allegheny County Health Department [ACHD] confirmed 887 new COVID-19 cases from the past 48 hours and three new deaths. The cases, from Dec. 28 to Jan. 10, include patients that range in age from two months to 99 years old, with a median age of 43 years. The deaths, dated Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, include one person in their 80s and two people in their 90s. To date, ACHD has confirmed 61,075 COVID-19 cases, 1,089 deaths and 3,485 past and present hospitalizations. The Pennsylvania Department of Health [DOH] confirmed 5,338 new COVID-19 cases reported Monday as well as 7,506 new cases reported Sunday, making for a two-day increase of 12,844 new cases. Like last week, the DOH explained that Monday's new caseload is lower than usual because of technical maintenance performed Sunday. The DOH also confirmed 103 new deaths from the virus reported Sunday and 83 new deaths reported Monday. Nursing and personal care home residents and staff represent about 9.4% of the state's total cases and approximately 52.5% of the state's total deaths from the virus. Healthcare workers represent about 2.8% of the state's total cases. To date, the DOH has confirmed 726,154 COVID-19 cases and 17,853 deaths from the virus. The DOH also reported there are 5,201 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, about 20.4% of whom are in intensive care units. Vaccine update Through Sunday, at least 285,671 vaccine doses have been administered in Pennsylvania. So far, 21,291 healthcare workers in Pennsylvania have received both the first and second vaccine doses. Data concerning the number of doses administered by CVS in partnership with the federal government to skilled nursing facility residents and staff have not yet been given to the DOH. The federal government has thus far distributed 827,300 doses of vaccines to Pennsylvania. Nearly 138,000 new doses will arrive throughout this week, DOH Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said in a Monday press briefing. Levine said that the department hopes to roll out a "robust" communications plan about the virus that dovetails with a new federal communications strategy led by president-elect Joe Biden's administration. 'I think it will be very important for the federal government to have a national communications strategy that emphasizes the safety and the effectiveness of the vaccines," Levine said. Reports of wasted vaccine doses have arisen around the country. Levine said she has not heard of this happening in Pennsylvania and stressed that she wants this to always be avoided. "We don't want any vaccine wasted," Levine said. "If they're going to vaccinate someone in [Phase] 1b as opposed to wasting it, that's absolutely fine. We want to make sure, at the end of the day, that we get vaccine into arms." She warned that it will take several months until every Pennsylvanian has access to the vaccine. "We know that there is significant interest among all Pennsylvanians about when they will be vaccinated," Levine said. "We are working to ensure that everyone who wants access to a COVID-19 vaccine will be able to get it." Positivity rate and testing The statewide percent positivity rate for COVID-19 tests in Pennsylvania dropped .6% last week, though last week's caseload represented an approximate 1,000 case increase from the previous week. The positivity rate has been steadily dropping in recent weeks. New weekly caseloads were also decreasing until last week — Jan. 1 to Jan. 7 — a period for which the state confirmed 42,322 new cases. This small increase may be because of limited testing due to the holidays during the week of Dec. 25 to Dec. 31 During Jan. 1 to Jan. 7, Pennsylvania confirmed 5,128 new COVID-19 cases among individuals ages 5-18, which represents about 8.8% of the total cases among this demographic in Pennsylvania. Still, few people who test positive answer questions by phone from case investigators about what sorts of businesses they may have visited. In addition to supplying the state with data about business visits in relation to the transmission of the virus, case investigations serve as the first step for contact tracing. Levine reported Thursday that a confirmed COVID-19 variant case was found in Dauphin County. This COVID-19 variant was first discovered in the UK in December. The individual, who tested positive after known international exposure and a case investigation, had mild symptoms. Contact tracing was conducted to identify other people who came in close contact with the positive case. "Pennsylvania has been preparing for this variant by working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] and has been sending 10 to 35 random samples biweekly to the CDC since November to study sequencing and detect any potential cases for this new COVID-19 variant," Levine said. According to the CDC, coronaviruses can mutate regularly because mutations among viruses are common. The CDC expects that all currently available diagnostic tests will detect the variant as COVID-19 and that vaccines with federal Emergency Use Authorizations will be effective against this variant as well. Levine said public health experts are working to study the virus and understand how this new variant spreads and affects those who are infected. "There is still much to learn about this new variant, so we need to remain vigilant and continue to urge Pennsylvanians to stop the spread by washing their hands, practicing social distancing, avoiding gatherings, downloading COVID Alert PA and answering the call. Stay calm, stay alert and stay safe," Levine said. The Department of Health announced Friday that Pennsylvania is above the national average for its testing rate, according to a White House Task Force Weekly report. Pennsylvania was at the yellow level, performing between 2,000 to 2,999 tests per 100,000 people for the previous week, the report showed. Director of Testing and Contact Tracing Michael Huff reported that as of Jan. 8, the department collected results from 8,466,597 COVID-19 PCR and antigen tests statewide. Over the past 30 days, the department reported a total of nearly 69,629 tests each day on average. "We want Pennsylvanians to know that if they need a test, one is available," Levine said. "This week, we have added five free testing sites and will continue to expand testing opportunities across the state weekly." Allegheny County vaccinations Allegheny County's COVID-19 vaccination program will soon quicken. The number of people receiving coronavirus vaccinations in the county should start increasing rapidly, Dr. Debra Bogen, the director of the Allegheny County Health Department [ACHD], said at Wednesday's Board of Health meeting. That's because the number of providers the state has approved to administer the vaccination recently increased substantially, she said. The number of people vaccinated so far is at least 16,000, she said. Bogen estimated that there were around 85,000 health care workers who would be eligible to receive vaccinations in the first stage of the rollout, adding that, according to national averages, nearly 70,000 of them would likely accept it. The county is following the CDC's guidelines to prioritize who receives the vaccine first. White women have been most likely to receive the vaccine so far. Bogen noted this could be due to the demographics of health care workers in general, though she said she didn't know the racial demographics of the eligible workers. She also noted it's possible the low amount of vaccination among people of color could be related to distrust of the vaccine in communities of color. The county is rolling out a communications program to try to increase trust in public health measures among residents of color, she said. The county added a COVID-19 vaccination distribution clinic Monday at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh - Monroeville Convention Center. Previously, the only COVID-19 distribution clinic was located Downtown. More than 700 facilities or organizations have requested vaccination through the county's online form, according to a Monday press release. Vaccinations will only be administered at this time to individuals who fall in the Phase 1A category, which covers healthcare workers. Workers need only be employed in Allegheny County to access this clinic — it doesn't matter where they reside. Allegheny County has launched its vaccine dashboard, which provides frequently updated information about the numbers of vaccine doses administered by the county and shares demographic information about those vaccinated. During the first week of January, CVS offered COVID-19 vaccinations for all residents and staff of Allegheny County's Kane Community Living Centers. CVS is also administering vaccinations at 120 skilled nursing facilities across Pennsylvania and Walgreens is doing so at six skilled nursing homes statewide. Faster-spreading variant expected Even though the new, more transmissible variant of the coronavirus hasn't been confirmed in Allegheny County, Dr. Lee Harrison, the Board of Health chair, said that the county is increasing its capacity to test for the variant. Bogen said she expects the variant will be here soon, if not already. "If it's in five or six states, it's probably in many or all the states," Bogen said. When it arrives, the more transmissible virus could lead to an increase in the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, she said. The county had been seeing a slight downturn in all three measures over the past few weeks, but Bogen warned that health officials were waiting to see if there would be an uptick following holiday gatherings. The arrival of the new variant shouldn't change individuals' adherence to public health measures already in place, Bogen said. "Schools are relatively low-risk and safe behavior," Bogen reiterated at the board meeting. She pointed out that, according to county data, the number of cases in households with remote learning has been similar to the number of cases in households with in-person instruction. She also said that less than 10% of the county's COVID-19 cases come from K-12 schools. Earlier in the week, Pittsburgh Public Schools administrators said they were looking at whether COVID-19 cases increase after the holidays before making decisions about whether to restart in-person instruction. In a livestream later on Wednesday, Bogen noted that, looking back at 2020, cases and hospitalizations peaked in late November and early December but have been trending down since. "While this is encouraging, I am unsure it will continue, as I remain worried about a post-holiday surge," Bogen said. ACHD has received reports of COVID-19 cases related to Christmas and New Year's Eve parties as well as travel. The department is also currently investigating five New Year's Eve parties that hosted groups as large as 40 people, many with teenagers and young adults, according to Bogen. "As we have seen in the past, cases among young, healthy people can quickly spread to their older and more vulnerable family members and friends," she said. Statewide vaccination, mitigation update On Jan. 8, Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced the fourth version of the COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution plan, detailing the updates and how the state is working to ensure safe and swift implementation of the vaccines. Wolf emphasized the importance of the vaccination plan and the many variables that factor into the distribution process. As of Jan. 8, Pennsylvania has received 827,300 doses of the two approved vaccines and about 235,000 Pennsylvanians have been vaccinated. "My administration is doing everything we can now to prepare for the day when the vaccine is more widely available. There are hopeful signs we must embrace. They will help us regain control in a time when many things may seem very out of control." The first vaccines that arrive in Pennsylvania are being given to healthcare workers, and people working and residing in the state's long-term care facilities have also begun to receive the vaccine. Levine said the updates to the vaccination distribution plan were meant to further define who was receiving the vaccine and in what stage they would be receiving them. "Phase 1A has been further defined to identify specific health care providers. Phase 1B is now a significantly larger group of people that includes people age 75 and older, those with significant health issues and essential workers," Levine said. "This update also creates a Phase 1C, which is those people age 65 to 74 and people with high-risk conditions such as cancer, COPD, heart conditions and pregnant women, and those essential workers not included in Phase 1A or B." When more vaccines are available, anyone who was not previously covered and is age 16 or older will be vaccinated in Phase 2. Pennsylvania surpasses 700,000 cases The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 10,045 new COVID-19 cases and 273 new deaths Saturday, bringing the totals since the start of the pandemic to 713,310 cases and 17,667 deaths. Nursing and personal care home residents and employees represent about 9.4% of the state's cases and about 53% of the state's deaths. Healthcare workers represent about 2.9% of the state's cases. County-specific information and a statewide map are available on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard. Education guidance from the state The Pennsylvania Department of Health and Department of Education on Thursday provided school administrators and school boards with updated recommendations on instructional models they should consider using based on the changing levels of community transmission of COVID-19 in their counties. Starting January 25, the departments will provide a second recommendation for elementary schools in counties with substantial levels of transmission. In addition to remote learning, now there is an option for blended/hybrid learning for elementary students. Acting Secretary of Education Noe Ortega said that these recommendations are not a mandate, but rather a suggestion to school districts as to how they should conduct in-person instruction. "We know that school leaders continue to be the ones in the best position to make decisions about in-person instruction. So, we want to emphasize that while these are not mandatory; it is up to school leaders to make a decision on whether or not local factors permit them to return elementary students to in-person instruction. If it's feasible within the context and conditions of the county and community, all pre-K to 12 schools should continue to have strategies in place that limit the number of people in classrooms and limit the number of people in learning spaces, including teachers and students," Ortega said at a press conference Thursday. Levine emphasized the increased importance of preventative measures such as masks and social distancing to be used during in-person learning under these new recommendations. "The research on offering in-person instruction during COVID-19 continues to emerge," Levine said. "While it is impossible to eliminate the risk of disease transmission entirely within a school setting where community spread is present, recent studies have shown that when mitigation efforts such as universal masking, physical distancing and hand hygiene are followed, it may be safer for younger children, particularly elementary-grade students, to return to in-person instruction." These updated recommendations are intended to help schools begin the process of safely returning as many students as possible to in-person instruction during the 2020-21 academic year. "The commitment our educational leaders have shown towards mitigation efforts is noteworthy and helps us support returning many of our youngest and most vulnerable students to some level of in-person instruction," Ortega said. "We must remember that a safe return to in-person instruction will look different across every school and county depending on a variety of local factors." SNAP benefits, enrollment rising Following a 5.6% increase in SNAP enrollment in Pennsylvania since February 2020, the new COVID-19 response package from the federal government will increase the maximum SNAP benefits by 15%. This change to SNAP benefits, which financially assist low-income families in purchasing groceries, took effect at the beginning of the month and will expire June 30, 2021. "We are thankful for these rule changes, as those with the lowest income that were receiving the maximum SNAP benefits did not see an increase in their benefits during the pandemic and economic downturn," Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller said in a Wednesday press release. "This not only hurt our lowest-income neighbors, but our communities, as charitable food networks were overburdened. This [rule change] is incredibly helpful for our lowest-income families and others who are going through difficult times." Since February, the month before COVID-19 first shuttered the economy, 96,549 additional people have enrolled in SNAP, putting overall statewide enrollment at more than 1.8 million. Additionally, 300,076 more people have enrolled in Medicaid since February 2020, a 10.6% increase. The new federal package did not affect Medicaid benefits. This article was reported by Annie Siebert, Lauren Davidson, Matt Petras and Punya Bhasin. This article was produced by PublicSource.org, a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. PublicSource tells stories for a better Pittsburgh. Sign up for their free email newsletters at publicsource.org/newsletters.