Covid cases are slowly increasing because more than 40% of Pa have at least 1 dose of vaccination

For the fifth consecutive day, Pennsylvania posted a new covid case number of more than 5,000 – something it has not done since mid-January.

The state’s seven-day case average rose to 4,949, with a total of 34,642 cases over the seven-day period.

The last time the state’s seven – day average averaged more than 5,000 was on February 3, which was also the last time the total of seven days was more than 35,000.

Although business on average continues to grow, it is still not growing at the same rate as when business rose in late November and December.

Incidents

Pennsylvania reported 5,114 new covid-19 cases Saturday. Of these, 4 085 were confirmed by PCR tests and 1 029 were listed as probable cases. Health officials define a probable case as a case in which a patient has a positive viral antigen test or covid symptoms with a ‘high risk’ exposure ‘to someone who has been confirmed to have coronavirus.

Allegheny County reported 405 new cases on Saturday. Of these, 296 were confirmed and 109 were listed as likely. Of these, 296 were confirmed cases and 109 probable cases. New cases ranged from 2 months to 87 years. The median age was 28 years old.

The country’s average of seven days rises to 538 with 3,767 cases in the past week. However, this total includes the anomaly of Wednesday 1,321, where more than 900 overdue cases – from as far back as January – were reported in one day by GS Lab, with locations in McKnight Road and in the Upper St. Clair. It has not yet been explained why the laboratory has delayed the results so far.

The age distribution of the newly reported cases – 205 females, 200 males – is:

• Ages 0-4: 8

• Ages 5-12: 30

• Ages: 13-18: 42

• Ages 19-24: 88

• Ages 25-49: 162

• Ages 50-64: 55

• Ages 65 and older: 19

Note: The age of one person was unknown; it will be updated when the information arrives.

In Westmoreland County, there were 101 new cases – the second lowest total in the past 12 days. Of these, 47 were confirmed and 54 as likely to be listed.

The numbers from Westmoreland brought its seven-day average to 143, with 1,002 cases in the past week.

Deaths

Health officials have reported 39 new deaths involving covid, bringing the state’s total to 25,661. The last seven days there have been 259 such deaths in Pennsylvania.

In Allegheny County, health officials reported two new covid deaths, bringing the total to 1,833. The province’s seven – day death toll dropped from 23 to 20.

Three new covide-related deaths have been added in Westmoreland County, placing the total of seven cases in double digits (11) for the first time since March 23. The death toll so far in Westmoreland County is 723.

Hospitalizations

The latest data on patients hospitalized for covid-19 shows that 2,653 Pennsylvania residents are being cared for in facilities, a decrease of three from Friday’s total. In the past week, the number of hospitalizations worldwide increased by 212. Of those in hospitals, 555 are in intensive care units and 275 in ventilators.

In the provinces of Allegheny and Westmoreland, hospital numbers are slightly better news than the state. Both provinces deteriorated over a few days, while Allegheny saw a downturn for four consecutive days and Westmoreland for three consecutive days.

There are 266 residents of Allegheny County in covid hospitals, of which 80 are in ICUs and 34 in ventilators. Allegheny’s hospital number has dropped by 33 over the past four days.

In Westmoreland, there are 55 in the hospital, with 11 in an ICU and five in a ventilator. Westmoreland’s hospital number has dropped by nine over the past three days.

Vaccinations

To date, just over 41% of the state’s population has at least one dose of a covide vaccine. At least 5.2 million people received at least one shot. There were 24.7% who were fully vaccinated with two shots of the Pfizer or Modern vaccines or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson (before discontinuation). That is a total of at least 3.1 million people. The numbers include the city of Philadelphia, which records vaccination rates separately from the state. However, the city’s totals are from Friday.

Among Allegheny County residents, 311,581 (25.5%) people have both doses, while 544,435 (44.5%) have at least one dose. If those under 18 are excluded, the province’s total increases by at least one dose to 55%.

In Westmoreland County, 83,580 (22.9%) have both doses, while 134,951 (36.96%) have at least one dose.