Pittsburgh-COVID Data Backlog From Urgent Care Centers Included In Friday's Case Counts

Pittsburgh PA

01 February, 2021

4:17 PM

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By PublicSource reporters, Public Source 2021-01-29 The Allegheny County Health Department reported 364 new COVID-19 cases and 39 deaths on Friday. The new cases, from positive tests dated Dec. 15 to Jan. 29, come from individuals 1 month old to 103 years old, with a median age of 46 years. Among the newly reported deaths, dated Jan. 2 to Jan. 26: seven people were in their 60s, six people were in their 70s, 12 people were in their 80s, and 13 people were in their 90s. Seventeen of the deaths were related to long-term care facilities. To date, the Allegheny County Health Department has reported 68,809 cases, 1,451 deaths from the virus and 4,221 past and present hospitalizations. The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 9,643 new COVID-19 cases and 159 new deaths Friday, bringing the totals since the start of the pandemic to 834,048 cases and 21,462 deaths. Friday's case counts included some backlogged data the state received from urgent care centers. Nursing and personal care home residents and employees represent about 9% of the state's cases and about 53% of the state's deaths. Healthcare workers represent about 2.7% of the state's cases. Between mid-December and through Jan. 30, at least 1,814,850 vaccine doses have been administered in Pennsylvania. There are 719,928 people who have received one dose of the vaccine and 173,328 people who have received both doses of the vaccine. Allegheny County officials acknowledged the frustrating experiences of those attempting to make vaccination appointments following the expansion of eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine in Pennsylvania, and asked for patience. "I know there is a lot of frustration out there," said Allegheny County Health Department [ACHD] Director Dr. Debra Bogen during a press briefing Wednesday. "Our clinics are filling up fast, the registration system from the state is confusing, and sometimes it doesn't work. You're wondering when you can get a vaccine and how you'll get a vaccine. I really do hear you. We all hear you. We are frustrated here, too." After the state expanded the first vaccination phase to include people 65 and older, demand increased. The most recent online sign-up for vaccines at ACHD's Monroeville clinic filled up in less than 30 minutes, Bogen said. ACHD has been reviewing these appointments and canceling any for individuals who do not meet the current eligibility requirements. Checking appointments and canceling for those who are ineligible "is very time-consuming," Bogen said. "This delays our ability to vaccinate those who truly need it, and this really needs to stop." Bogen said the biggest hurdles are a lack of vaccine supply and the inability to predict how many doses are coming more than a week ahead of time. The state can't tell the county more than a week in advance how many new doses are coming because the federal government doesn't tell the state, Bogen said. She said she hopes this changes soon. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said the approach so far from President Joe Biden's administration concerning the vaccine roll-out has been encouraging. He called attention to the administration's attempts to ramp up supply and Biden's goal of vaccinating 300 million Americans by the end of the summer. "The president and his team have just focused on this and really made this a priority, meeting with the manufacturers, putting plans together to do distribution," Fitzgerald said. "Obviously, they inherited something with a lot of challenges, as we all know, and it looks to me like it's going to improve." Gov. Tom Wolf said, during a press conference on Tuesday, that the state needs 8 million more vaccines from the federal government in order to ensure that all residents under the expanded 1A phase can receive a vaccine. Currently under the expanded 1A phase, which now includes residents 65 and older, pregnant women and the immunocompromised, there are about 4 million residents in need of a vaccine. "It is incredibly disappointing that the national vaccine supply is extremely limited, because states rely on the federal government to get the vaccine," Wolf said. "My administration is fighting to make sure Pennsylvania gets our fair share of doses. Our goal remains to ensure every Pennsylvanian who wants a vaccine can get one." Wolf said that the vaccine eligibility requirements in Pennsylvania had been expanded under the direction of the Trump administration after states were reassured that the federal government would be able to secure and then send more vaccine doses to meet the increased demand. However, as states expanded their eligibility, the federal government did not have a stockpile of vaccines ready and are still negotiating with the pharmaceutical companies for more doses. The Biden administration on Tuesday revealed its plan of boosting the distribution of vaccines to the states, promising a minimum of 10 million vaccines per week, a 1.4 million increase from the previous level of distribution. Wolf on Friday nominated Alison Beam to serve as DOH secretary and named Dr. Wendy Braund as an interim acting physician general. "Alison Beam is a talented public servant who brings years of experience in health care policy and implementation to this position," Wolf said in a press release. "Alison knows that a strong, widely available, and successful vaccination strategy is the path out of the pains of this pandemic. Her foremost and immediate focus will be on the strategic distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, making sure Pennsylvania receives as many doses as possible from the federal government, and that the Pennsylvania Department of Health coordinates with hospitals, health centers, county and local governments, and pharmacy partners to make this vaccine as widely available as possible to Pennsylvanians everywhere." Beam will assume the role of acting secretary on Jan. 23, replacing outgoing Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, who was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as assistant secretary of health of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The governor also named Braund as interim acting physician general to replace Levine. "Wendy brings years of public health expertise and a commitment to improving public health practice in Pennsylvania to the role of Interim Acting Physician General," Wolf said. "Wendy has been an integral part of our COVID-19 pandemic response efforts, and that experience will be an asset in this role." Pennsylvania's seven-day case increase and percent positivity from testing dropped this week. The state reported 31,140 new cases over seven days, down from 40,088 in the prior week. The percent positivity is down from 12.7% to 10.5%. While most counties are still reporting a substantial level of transmission, Cameron County is moving into the low level of transmission status. "After six straight weeks of all 67 counties reporting in the substantial level of transmission, we now have one county moving into the low level of transmission category – a great sign of progress," Wolf said in a Monday press release. "But there is still more work for us to do and we must not become complacent. I believe we can keep up these best public health practices to continue to bring the transmission of COVID-19 down in our communities, keep each other safe, and move forward with rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine." Every county in the state has a concerning percent positivity above 5 percent. This includes two counties with percent positivity at or above 20 percent, which is a decrease of two counties from the week before. The state provided an update on contact tracing in the past week in a Monday press release. Within 24 hours of receiving a positive report, 8,407 cases out of the 46,708 COVID-19 cases reported had a case investigation started, according to the release. An additional 5%, or 2,335 cases, had a case investigation started within 48 hours. Public health professionals successfully contacted 6,539 people, 14% of cases for the week. In addition to the case investigations and contact tracing process conducted by public health officials, there have been 1,032 cases that confirmed their positivity and uploaded their random IDs through the state's COVID-19 app. These uploads generated 529 exposure alerts users of the app who were in close contact to the case. Of that group, 70 individuals requested a call back for further assistance from a contact tracer. In total, there were 7,351 individuals, roughly 16% of cases, who successfully completed a case investigation for the week. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry announced that payments for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program in the new federal CARES Act extension are resuming. Department Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier said the department is aware of the many Pennsylvanians who are dependent on these benefits and they are working quickly to process these payments. "We know that more than 400,000 Pennsylvanians and their families are relying on these Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits to get through this terrible pandemic and have worked as quickly as possible to complete the implementation and resume payments," Berrier said. Some extensions to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program have included benefits to workers who lost their job during COVID-19 and are not typically eligible for unemployment compensation programs. These included gig workers, freelancers and self-employed workers. Pennsylvania residents can begin filing for the additional 11 claim weeks immediately. Residents must file these claims by Jan. 29 and are able to file claims for the weeks of Jan. 2, Jan. 9, Jan. 16, and Jan. 23. People who have questions about their enrollment in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program should email [email protected]. This article was reported by Annie Siebert, Lauren Davidson, Matt Petras, Punya Bhasin, Danielle Cruz and Dannys Marrero. 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.