Vaccine supply is now more than demand in Allegheny County, officials said Wednesday
At a news conference, dr. Debra Bogen, health director, and Rich Fitzgerald, district manager, again encouraged residents of the country to make a vaccine appointment or walk in a dose at a digging clinic.
All Pennsylvania residents 16 years and older are eligible for a vaccine vaccination from last Tuesday.
“It means freedom,” Fitzgerald said.
In general, vaccination rates are rising in Allegheny County. According to Fitzgerald, more than 900,000 shots were fired in the country, which vaccinated more than 565,000 people. That’s nearly 57% of the adult population, Fitzgerald said.
About 84% of people 65 and older in Allegheny County received at least one dose. Among the 50-64, Bogen said about 54% received at least one dose.
According to Bogen, the availability of vaccine has enabled the province to weaken the restrictions on where people can seek second doses. The Department of Health places more emphasis on making it as easy as possible to receive people everywhere.
College students returning to the province from elsewhere or leaving Allegheny County after receiving their first dose can seek a second dose wherever they go, Bogen said. The availability of walk-ins is increasing at clinics; and the department will reduce large vaccination sites within the next few weeks, in favor of more targeted events.
“Our goal is to bring the vaccine to people where they are,” Bogen said.
Bogen said the Department of Health, like the rest of the state and country, is waiting for the “green light” to resume administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was suspended last week after rare blood clots at six women in the two were identified. weeks after their lap. One of the women is dead. More than 6.8 million people have received the J&J vaccine in the US, most without serious side effects.
At Wednesday’s briefing, Bogen said the J&J break was a setback.
“Simply put, it gives people who have asked if they want a vaccine an excuse not to get one,” she said.
Bogen notes that the death rate in the US is about 60 times higher than the death rate due to car accidents. According to Covid, it is likely that someone will kill more than getting blood clots from the vaccine, especially among older people.
“I do not want to downplay the serious consequences of blood clots,” Bogen said. “I just want to reiterate that the risk of developing these blood clots is extremely rare, about one in a million.”
Pennsylvania officials said last week that the J&J vaccine break would last until at least Saturday.
Meanwhile, Allegheny County is still in a “fourth wave” of affairs, Bogen said. But daily infection counts have dropped over the past week, averaging 350 new cases a day – up from 425 a day in the first ten days of the month.
“Not where we want to be, but definitely in the right direction,” Bogen said.
Teghan Simonton is an author of the staff of Tribune-Review. You can contact Teghan at 724-226-4680, [email protected] or via Twitter .