Pittsburgh: Allegheny County Reports 522 New COVID Cases In Past 48 Hours; Pennsylvania Begins 1B Vaccinations

Pittsburgh PA

06 April, 2021

9:09 PM

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By PublicSource reporters, Public Source 2021-04-05 Pennsylvania on Monday moved to phase 1B of vaccinations, which includes people in congregate settings, postal workers, manufacturing workers, clergy, transit workers and educators not already vaccinated. Through April 5, at least 5,632,986 vaccine doses have been administered in Pennsylvania. Across the state, 3,755,602 people have received one dose of the vaccine and 1,877,384 people who have received both doses of the vaccine. Through April 5, at least 5,632,986 vaccine doses have been administered in Pennsylvania. Across the state, 3,755,602 people have received one dose of the vaccine and 1,877,384 people who have received both doses of the vaccine. The Allegheny County Health Department on Monday confirmed 522 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths for the past 48 hours. The new cases include individuals ranging in age from two months to 92 years old, with a median age of 33. To date, Allegheny County Health Department has reported 87,623 cases, 1,792 deaths from the virus and 5,842 past and present hospitalizations. The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed on Monday 6,651 new COVID-19 cases and 12 new deaths in the past 48 hours. Since the start of the pandemic, Pennsylvania has reported 1,045,400 cases and 25,200 deaths. Nursing and personal care home residents and employees represent about 8% of the state's cases and approximately 51% of the state's deaths. Healthcare workers represent about 2.5% of the state's cases. More than 112,500 teachers and school staff in Pennsylvania were vaccinated within three weeks, Gov. Tom Wolf announced on April 2 at an appearance in Luzerne County. "This is a great success, and I am so proud of everyone who made it happen," Wolf said. "We know that teachers and students want to be back in the classroom where students can learn, laugh and grow with their friends and completing our special vaccination initiative is a big milestone for Pennsylvania, one that will better protect schools, families and communities." Following guidance from the federal government, the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Education announced on Monday an update to their instructional model recommendations for Pre-K to 12 schools. The recommendations are based on the county's level of community transmission. For the week ending on April 2, 45 counties — including Allegheny County — were classified as having substantial transmission, 17 counties had moderate transmission and five counties had low level transmission. The transmission of COVID-19 continues to intensify in Allegheny County, and is now near levels seen in mid-January, according to health department director Dr. Debra Bogen. "From our case investigations, we know that people are gathering in large and small groups, often without masks. We've noted a significant rise in people ignoring mitigation strategies," Bogen said in a press briefing Wednesday. "When coupled with more variant cases, we have the foundation for a surge, which is born out in our case counts this week." COVID-19 tests came back positive 7.7% of the time in the past week, as opposed to 6% the previous week, according to the Allegheny County Health Department [ACHD]. On average, ACHD confirmed more than 400 cases a day over the last week. Hospitalizations in the county have increased by about 10 per week since mid-February. This comes despite strides in the rollout of vaccines. By the end of last week, more than 70% of county residents 65 and older, as well as 40% of residents 50 to 64, received at least one vaccine dose. ACHD plans to open a new vaccination site in McKeesport late next week. Gains on vaccination do not make mitigation efforts any less crucial, according to Bogen. "Short of everyone being vaccinated, [and] we are all working as hard as we can to accomplish that, the only way this pandemic will subside is if we all adhere to the tried and true mitigation strategies," Bogen said, "of face-masking, keeping physically distant and limiting the size of social gatherings." All Pennsylvanians, 16 years of age and older, will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination Apr. 19, almost two weeks prior to the deadline suggested by President Joe Biden, the state's Department of Health [DOH] announced Wednesday. Pennsylvania will still build up to this through the phases outlined months ago, but the progression will be much quicker than expected and comes with one tweak. The state has decided to prioritize vaccinating firefighters, grocery store workers, law enforcement as well as food and agriculture workers, all of whom will be eligible immediately. On Apr. 5, Pennsylvania will move to phase 1b, which includes public transit workers and clergy members. On Apr. 12, phase 1c will arrive, including food service and government workers. The state's new vaccination plan can be viewed here. Vaccine appointments are now more easily available for folks currently eligible in Phase 1A, according to Acting DOH Secretary of Health Alison Beam. "When we asked, providers representing every region at that time said that they have available appointments starting next week," Beam said at a Wednesday press briefing. "Anecdotally, we are hearing from providers across the state, including densely populated regions like the Southeast and Southwest, that they are ready to move to the next stage of eligibility." Beam also noted Wednesday that Pennsylvania now ranks as the 12th best state in the percentage of its population given at least one vaccine dose and number one among the 10 most populous states. Pennsylvania ranks five places higher than last week and has greatly improved its ranking since late February, when the state ranked 30th. Today, Pfizer announced that its vaccine is 100% effective for kids 12 to 15 years old. While the state has not had time to come up with specific plans for kids, Beam said safely vaccinating children and teens is a priority. "As we think through the next phases, whether it be adolescent vaccinations or the need for booster shots or the like, we know that we have learned a tremendous amount in the past three months and we expect to use every aspect of what we've learned to inform and improve what we do next," Beam said. Pennsylvania announced updated social distancing recommendations Tuesday for K-12 schools, stating that students can now be at least three feet apart in counties with low and moderate community transmission rates. For counties with substantial community transmission rates, students at the middle and high school levels should remain six feet apart. The state also notes that students should remain six feet apart in settings of increased exhalation and exercise, eating, large common areas, and around teachers and staff. Masks should continue to be worn at all times. Pennsylvania is expected to receive $4.9 billion in federal relief funds for Pre-K to 12 schools, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday. The funds will be used to help schools return students to classroom learning and expand opportunities for students. Money must be spent by September 2024 and at least 20 percent of this money has to be used to address learning loss and the social, emotional, and academic needs of underrepresented students. The rest of the funding can be spent on things like food service, professional training, technology purchases, cleaning supplies, mental health support, summer and after-school programs. At least 90 percent of the funds will be allocated to traditional public school districts and charter schools, who will each receive an amount proportional to the funds they got in 2020 under the Every Student Succeeds Act. As Allegheny County experiences a rise in COVID-19 cases, UPMC researchers on March 26 announced a new COVID-19 treatment available at 16 of its centers known as monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies are used as a treatment to help prevent the initial infection of COVID-19 from getting more severe, and UPMC researchers said it cuts the risk of hospitalization or death. Monoclonal antibodies are copies of antibodies that seek out the COVID-19 virus in the body and block it from infecting the cells and replicating inside. UPMC researchers believe monoclonal antibody treatments are most effective if given within 10 days of your positive test result and mild symptoms. Patients who are infected with COVID-19 can ask their doctors about their eligibility for monoclonal antibodies. The FDA has approved three forms of monoclonal antibodies, and UPMC expects that at least a third of its patients infected with COVID would be eligible to receive the treatment. The FDA has authorized the treatment to be given to patients who are most at risk for severe complications of COVID-19, including patients 65 and older and patients with severe health complications such as diabetes, obesity, heart, lung or kidney disease. For more information about the monoclonal antibody treatment, individuals can call 866-804-5251 or visit the monoclonal antibody page at UPMC. To date, UPMC officials said the healthcare giant has given more than 297,000 vaccines and more than 166,000 of those vaccines have been administered to individuals who are not affiliated with UPMC. Starting April 4, some restrictions on restaurants and other businesses will be lifted. Gathering limits will also be increased. Indoor dining capacity will be raised to 75% for restaurants that are currently self-certified and restaurants that are undergoing the self-certification process. Restaurants that do not self-certify will be allowed to raise their capacity to 50%. In April, restaurants will also be allowed to resume bar service, and the 11 p.m. curfew for removing alcoholic drinks from tables will also be lifted. Wolf also announced that venues will be allowed to hold indoor events at 25% maximum occupancy and outdoor events at 50% maximum occupancy, as long as workers and attendees can comply with the 6-foot physical distancing requirement. Businesses like gyms, entertainment facilities and moving personal services facilities will be allowed to operate at 75% maximum occupancy. Mask-wearing and social distancing requirements are still in effect for all businesses. This article was reported by Annie Siebert, Lauren Davidson, Matt Petras, Punya Bhasin and Danielle Cruz. 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.