State urges patience in wait for COVID-19 vaccine
The Pennsylvania Health Department urged residents to be patient in the dragged-out wait for a COVID-19 vaccine.
The state needs nearly 8 million vaccine doses to finish the first eligibility category, which includes people 65 and older and others with health conditions that put them at risk of dying from the disease, the department said Wednesday.
“The demand far exceeds the supply,” said Lindsey Mauldin, a senior adviser with the department.
“It will catch up,” Mauldin said during a virtual meeting with reporters.
As of Wednesday, the state had administered 1.6 million vaccine doses, a number that likely is higher due to a lag time in reporting, she said.
Allegheny County reported a similar issue with limited supplies of the vaccines, and urged residents to help prevent another surge in cases by not attending Super Bowl parties Sunday.
Dr. Debra Bogen, the county’s health department director, said people should only attend such parties with members of their own households.
The county reported progress in slowing the spread of the disease, averaging 240 new cases a day, about 50 fewer than last week, Bogen said.
The virus has killed 21,955 Pennsylvanians since March after 143 new deaths were reported Wednesday, including six in Washington County and two others in Fayette County.
The state reported 3,128 new cases, bringing the cumulative total to 853,616.
Fayette added 75 new cases, taking its total to 9,811. Washington County added 59 new cases to its total that climbed to 12,741. Greene’s case-count grew by 11 to 2,445.