More than half of Allegheny County’s population is partially vaccinated, officials say

According to local officials, more than 50% of the adult population in Allegheny County is vaccinated with covid-19. Over 78% of residents aged 65 and over receive at least one dose.

County officials advised people to sign up for appointments and vaccinate as soon as possible.

“The fewer people vaccinated, the longer the virus will last in our lives. The best way to defeat this virus is to continue deploying the vaccine as soon as possible,” said the county’s director of health. One Dr. Debra Bogen said.

Mr Bogen said he was worried about the hesitation of the vaccine. She said that a “boots in the field” approach is needed to reach out to people in different communities, provide education and meet people in a trusted place.

The county is in what Bogen calls the “fourth wave.” COVID CaseHundreds of new infections are reported daily. As of Wednesday, the county’s PCR positive rate was 9.6%, completely higher than last week. Hospitalizations and covid-related deaths continue to increase.

Bogen’s remarks were made the day after federal regulators recommended suspending the distribution of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, two weeks after firing, after six women were confirmed to have a blood clot type. It was.

Bogen realized the rarity of blood clots and asked residents to still sign up to be vaccinated against Pfizer or Moderna.

“As your health director, I strongly recommend that you do not consider this suspension to be an indication of any flaw in our local, state, or federal vaccination efforts,” she says. I did. “Rather, see this reaction as evidence that healthcare professionals will take decisive action with even the slightest hint of the problem.”

She said anyone with severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath should contact a healthcare provider.

The Health Department has partnered with the regional health system of a range of mass vaccination clinics, including a two-day clinic for UPMC and Pittsburgh Penguin. Pittsburgh Mills Fraser.. Bogen said the suspension would not change the overall vaccine strategy of the health sector.

Through work with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Association, the department expected to receive and administer approximately 12,000 Johnson & Johnson doses per week in the coming weeks, but they were “regional doses.” Was considered. The county-run clinics in the Hill districts of McKeesport, Castle Shannon, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh rely primarily on Pfizer and Moderna.

According to Bogen, county data on groundbreaking cases (infectious diseases of individuals who have been previously fired) are also promising so far. As of April 13, she said the Ministry of Health was aware of 109 breakthrough cases out of 213,000 vaccinated people. This is about 0.05%.