Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in Pennsylvania, as government officials warn of the impact of trends across the country: increased travel, relaxing restrictions and the spread of more contagious virus variants.
Pennsylvania reports an average of 4,922 cases per day, up from about 2,515 a month ago, according to a New York Times database. Hospitalizations have also climbed by about 16 percent over the past two weeks, and the state now has one of the highest daily cases per capita in the United States. Mortality, which tends to stay behind infections for weeks, began to rise again after falling from the state’s high of 222 on average in mid – January, which now averages about 37 a day.
Government and national health officials are also concerned about the spread of more contagious virus variants, particularly the B.1.1.7 variant first found in Britain. It is estimated that the variant is about 60 percent more contagious and 67 percent more deadly than the original version.
B.1.1.7 is now the most common source of new coronavirus infections in the United States. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 28 percent of Pennsylvania’s cases involve the variant, and it spreads in the vast majority of two dozen other states with high property taxes. In Michigan, more than 57 percent of cases are B.1.1.7; in Tennessee, the figure is more than 60 percent.
New Jersey and New York, where the variant accounts for about 30 percent of cases, started difficult in the spring, but the number of cases is declining.
Although nearly all of Pennsylvania’s provinces are ‘at a high level of risk transmission’, Alison Beam, Pennsylvania’s acting health secretary, said the state has no plans to impose new closures. She encouraged people to continue wearing masks, taking social distances and getting them vaccinated.
“At this stage, our hospitals have not indicated to us that they are being overrun or that they will be overrun,” she said. Beam said. “This is truly one of our most important measures when considering any further mitigation effort.”
James Garrow, the communications director of the Department of Public Health in Philadelphia, said the number of cases in the city is increasing as the restrictions gradually increase. If the city goes on this road for another month, officials will “seriously discuss” new regulations to limit hospitalization, he said.
Dr John Zurlo, Divisional Director of Infectious Diseases at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, said he has seen a steady increase in hospitalizations in Covid-19 over the past six weeks, and that most patients are now in the younger 45- to 64-year-olds age group was. . An overwhelming majority of patients have not yet been vaccinated, he said. Like most states, Pennsylvania preferred vaccination to older people, but was eligible for all adults on Tuesday.
And Pennsylvania’s vaccination campaign is ahead of most states. About 43 percent of the state’s population received at least one shot, including about 26 percent who were fully vaccinated, according to data from the CDC National. 39 percent of the population received at least one shot, and 25 percent were fully vaccinated.
But many health officials have warned of the long-standing challenge of persuading all eligible people to be vaccinated. In one state of Pennsylvania, for example, a hospital set up a driveway in a park with about 1,000 doses of vaccination. Only about 300 people showed up. In Iowa, a rural clinic called people who volunteered to say they shouldn’t come in because so few residents signed up for appointments.
The New York Times examined the uptake and vaccine administration data for almost every U.S. province and found that the willingness to receive a vaccine and the actual vaccination rates so far were on average lower in counties where the majority of residents voted to re-elect President Donald J Trump in 2020. The phenomenon has left some places with a shortage of supply and others with an abundance.