Pittsburgh-UK Variant Officially In Allegheny County, Which Reports Another 35 COVID-19 Deaths

Pittsburgh PA

11 February, 2021

1:44 PM

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By PublicSource reporters, Public Source 2021-02-10 An individual in Allegheny County tested positive for the highly-contagious COVID-19 variant from the United Kingdom. This person does not know how they contracted the virus, according to the Allegheny County Health Department [ACHD]. "This is the first and only case of the variant reported in Allegheny County thus far. I suspected that it's been present in the county for a while," said ACHD Director Dr. Debra Bogen said on Wednesday. "This news reinforces the need for us all to double-down on the efforts we're taking to control the spread of the virus." This news comes as the county continues attempts to improve its roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccines. On Wednesday, ACHD began to visit high-rise buildings to administer vaccines to seniors. ACHD started with residents in Homestead and will continue this effort in other public high-rise communities such as West Mifflin and Turtle Creek. "We started with county Housing Authority buildings because we already have a strong relationship with them, and this is really a pilot program that we will expand to other low-income subsidized senior living facilities as the supply of vaccine allows," Bogen said. ACHD plans to collaborate with other vaccine providers in the county to ensure there is ample supply of the vaccine for the high-rise residents. The health department itself has received only 11% of the vaccines allotted to the entire county, the rest going to providers like hospitals. Bogen described the supply of vaccines as still low. Nonetheless, daily new case counts have been lower than usual recently, running about 200 a day. ACHD confirmed 239 new COVID-19 cases and 35 new deaths from the virus Wednesday. The new cases, dated from Dec. 17 to Feb. 9, came from individuals 10 months old to 104 years old, with a median age of 36. The new deaths, from Dec. 10 to Feb. 9, occurred in one person in their 40s, one in their 50s, four in their 60s, eight in their 70s, 13 in their 80s, seven in their 90s and one person more than 100 years old. ACHD associates 12 of the new deaths with long-term care facilities. To date, ACHD has reported 72,177 COVID-19 cases, 1,564 deaths from the virus and 4,621 past and present hospitalizations. Hospitalizations due to the virus are down. At any given time over the past two weeks, fewer than 300 people on average have been hospitalized for COVID-19 in Allegheny County, down from an average near 800 at the end of last year, according to the state's online hospital preparedness dashboard. Hospitalizations are also down across the state. On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 2,890 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, compared to 3,281 a week ago and 3,790 two weeks ago. On the last day of 2020, 5,962 people were hospitalized with COVID-19. Bogen said she is pleased with the decrease in the transmission of the virus in the county but stopped short of celebrating. "I remain cautious," Bogen said. "We've seen how quickly this virus can spread if we drop our guard, especially with these new variants that appear to spread more easily." The Pennsylvania Department of Health launched a new tool called Your Turn to help better communicate to Pennsylvanians when it is their turn to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said the tool is primarily for those younger than the age of 65 who are unsure of when they are eligible to get the vaccine. "When it is your turn," Beam said, "we will direct you on how to find a vaccine provider. If it is not your turn yet, you will be able to enter contact information to receive updates about vaccine distribution in Pennsylvania and for us to let you know when it is your turn to get vaccinated." This tool will replace the current eligibility quiz on the state website. People can also call 877-PA-HEALTH to speak with a representative and determine their eligibility. The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 3,378 new COVID-19 cases and 125 new deaths from the virus Wednesday, bringing the new statewide pandemic totals to 880,291 cases and 22,745 deaths. Nursing and personal care home residents and staff represent about 8.8% of the state's total cases and approximately 52.3% of the state's total deaths. Through Tuesday, 1,084,502 people have been vaccinated in Pennsylvania, about 31 percent of whom have received both vaccine doses. By the end of the week, 2,439,550 vaccine doses will have been received by providers in Pennsylvania. COVID task force of legislators The Wolf Administration announced Tuesday that it is establishing a joint task force with members from the General Assembly who can share vaccine information and communicate issues and solutions in a more streamlined process. Gov. Tom Wolf said coordination between the General Assembly and the state is important to better represent community voices and needs. "We have a good working relationship with our legislators, and we know they are the eyes, ears, and voices for Pennsylvanians," Wolf said in the press release. "The feedback they receive from their local communities is extremely important, particularly as the commonwealth continues to improve upon this once-in-a-generation vaccine rollout. Working with leaders from each caucus in the General Assembly, we are creating a task force to ensure collaboration and strengthen communications about the state's vaccine plan." According to the press release, the task force members will represent their caucus's point-of-view in the General Assembly and will work with the Wolf administration to better communicate with the state regarding issues about COVID-19. DOH in a Friday press briefing sought to ensure Pennsylvanians that there is an adequate and continuous supply of vaccines being delivered to counties across the state. Dr. John Kelly, a physician at Penn Medicine, vouched for the effectiveness of the vaccine, urging the eligible residents to obtain their doses as quickly as possible. "Vaccines work," Kelly said during the briefing. "I received my vaccine a couple of weeks ago without having any major difficulties, but it is imperative that once you receive your first dose, you immediately schedule for your second dose to make sure you receive the adequate protection and benefits." Some concerns were raised about how quickly vaccines were being administered and if the essential workers in the next phase of eligible recipients, 1B, would be able to secure a spot on a waiting list. "Our focus at this time is to really get through 1A," said Department of Health Senior Advisor Lindsey Mauldin, "and make sure that our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians are being served. That is our focus at this time." The department expects federal changes in vaccine distribution to increase the vaccination rate in the state, where less than a third of the doses needed to get past Phase 1A have been administered. 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.