COVID-19 cases are again rising steadily in Pennsylvania, with Thursday’s 6,637 new infections the highest since a one-day spike of more than 7,000 occurred in mid-April.
The cases reported by the state Department of Health continued this week’s pattern. On Wednesday, the state reported there were 6,024 cases. Tuesday brought 5,778 additional positives. A four-day total on Tuesday of data from Nov. 11-14 showed infections jumped by 14,001.
The upward trend is in line with what many doctors predicted: Just as happened last year, the virus spreads more easily as the weather grows colder and people begin to gather indoors more frequently.
But even as cases continue their fall surge, the data shows that the unvaccinated are still among the most seriously affected. According to the Department of Health, 88% of reported COVID-19 cases between Jan. 1 and Nov. 2 were in people who were either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated.
Likewise, 90% of those hospitalized due to COVID-19 hadn’t received a shot or were yet to be fully immunized, and those people also made up 89% of deaths from the disease.
“The data shows that the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective for preventing hospitalizations and deaths, even as more post-vaccination cases occur in the context of more transmissible variants and more residents getting vaccinated,” the Department of Health said in a release.
Young children are also getting vaccinated against the virus since shots for kids between 5 and 11 began rolling out two weeks ago. In Pennsylvania, 4.1% of children 5 to 9 have had at least one dose and 4% are fully vaccinated, according to the DOH, and 23.4% of kids between the ages of 10 and 14 have been completely inoculated.
A release from the White House on Wednesday said 2.6 million kids aged 5 to 11 have taken their first COVID vaccine dose, meaning about 10% of children nationwide have had at least one shot against the virus.
The state reported 96 new deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday. Wednesday’s report counted 150 newly reported deaths, while Tuesday’s four-day total was 132.
The Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday reported 694 new cases of COVID-19 and said 25 more people were confirmed to have died from the virus. Since March 2020, the county has confirmed 142,527 cases of the virus, which have led to 9,219 hospitalizations and 2,420 deaths.
More than 31 million people nationally have received a booster dose of their vaccine, an extra shot providing another layer of protection against the virus. Currently, the Moderna and Pfizer doses are only available in Pennsylvania to adults aged 65 and older, younger people with underlying health conditions, or people who work in jobs that put them at high-risk for COVID-19.
Those restrictions are all according to guidance from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but some states have already opened the shot to all adults. At a meeting on Friday, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to sign off on Pfizer’s application to open up their booster doses to everyone over 18 years old, and official recommendation from the CDC could come soon after.
Mick Stinelli: mstinelli@post-gazette.com; 412-263-1869; and on Twitter: @MickStinelli
First Published: November 18, 2021, 6:39 p.m.
