Four more Butler County residents have died because of COVID-19, according to state data.

The deaths added to Tuesday's report by the Pennsylvania Department of Health came with the reporting of 88 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Statewide, there were 7,275 new confirmed cases and 227 deaths.

During a news conference Tuesday, state officials largely talked about the vaccine, reiterating to the public its efficacy, safety and importance.

“We should get vaccinated because both of these vaccines are both safe and highly effective,” said Gov. Tom Wolf. “When it's my turn, I'm gong to get vaccinated, and I look forward to that day.”

Wolf said the vaccines do not come without side effects, which was later elaborated upon by Dr. Cynthia Chuang, chief of medicine at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Chuang said 80% or more of those vaccinated will likely experience injection-site symptoms, such as soreness and redness.

Additionally, Chuang said 50% or more of those vaccinated will experience other symptoms, such as fatigue, low-grade fever and muscle aches. She said many of the vaccine's side effects resemble those of other vaccines, and the appearance of symptoms indicate that the body is responding and creating antibodies.

“Some people will have allergic reactions to the vaccine, but I assure you those are found to be very rare, luckily so far,” Chuang said.

Levine said Phase 1A of the state's vaccine distribution plan continues.

As of Tuesday, 311,477 doses have been administered. Of those vaccinated, 251,333 have had their first dose and 30,102 have had their second dose.

“We must have patience,” Levine said. “It will take time until there is enough vaccine available to everyone.”

Levine also commented on recent moves in federal vaccine distribution, which were discussed in a separate news conference Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

Azar said the federal government will no longer hold back the required second doses of both vaccines as they have since the first distributions. Both shots require two doses of the vaccine.

In her comments, Levine said that to do this, the federal government likely has to trust its evaluations of manufacturing in the future to keep up with second dose demands.

“We're pleased to see more vaccine coming,” she said.

Azar also called for states to immediately begin vaccinating other groups outside of Phase 1A, including people age 65 and older and younger people with specific health conditions.

“This next phase reflects the urgency of the situation,” Azar said. “Every vaccine dose sitting in a warehouse rather than going into an arm could mean one more death that could have been avoided.”

Levine said the state will continue to follow the latest federal guidance as it comes, but she also pointed out there are deficiencies in the current system with very little advanced communication on numbers and the arrival times for doses each week.

“We'll work to implement federal guidelines,” Levine said.

Also speaking at the state news conference was Michael Huff, contact tracing and testing director, who said his staff experienced better success last week in its contact tracing efforts.

He said about 6,000 calls were made to patients last week, and 3,000 calls came from patients themselves.

Huff said his department was about to reach nearly 75% of the identified close contacts too.

Additionally, Huff announced that as of Tuesday, nine million Pennsylvanians have received their test results for COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, in addition to the county residents who tested positive, 40,520 residents have tested negative for COVID-19.

Huff said the importance for both contact tracing and testing will continue until most of the population is vaccinated.

“The vaccine does not override the importance of continuing to test for and contain the virus to stop its spread,” Huff said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.