In Pa., all adults can now schedule vaccinations
All Pennsylvania adults can schedule COVID-19 vaccinations beginning Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday.
Citing the state's rising case counts and hospitalization rate, and President Joe Biden's call to expedite open scheduling for all adults, Wolf said vaccinations need to continue to speed up.
“We need to maintain acceleration of the vaccine rollout, especially as case counts and hospitalization rates have increased,” Wolf said. “Therefore, just as President Biden has brought forward universal adult access to vaccines from May 1 to April 19, we are moving Pennsylvania's timeline of universal adult access to April 13.”
Anyone older than 16 would be eligible for the vaccine.
About 87,000 people in the state are getting vaccinated daily. A total of 6,411,940 doses have been administered, including 4,234,191 first and single doses and 2,177,749 second doses. In the county, 17,028 people are partially vaccinated, and 50,810 people are fully vaccinated.
Butler Memorial Hospital had 2,600 vaccinations scheduled Monday and is expecting to vaccinate 3,000 per day at the vaccine clinic the Butler Health System is opening at the former Sears at the Clearview Mall in Center Township on Wednesday.
BHS said all residents ages 16 and older can now sign up for vaccinations, and should do so because the coronavirus continues to spread in the community. Appointments can be scheduled at www.butlerhealthsystem.org.
BMH is treating 24 COVID-19 patients, including four in intensive care. Statewide, 2,460 people are hospitalized, including 516 in intensive care.
The 14-day average number of people hospitalized per day is about 3,800 lower than it was at the peak in December 2020 and lower than it was at the height of the spring peak in May 2020, but the average of number of people hospitalized is increasing, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Most of the people hospitalized and most of those who have died are age 65 or older. The state recovery rate dropped from 90% to 89% Monday.
The department reported 4,882 new cases Saturday, 3,362 Sunday and 3,088 Monday, adding up to a total of 11,332 new cases and increasing the statewide total to 1,075,424 since the beginning of the pandemic. About 26,909 of the total cases in the state are among health care workers. Three new deaths Saturday and one new death Sunday bring the state total to 25,406.
In the county, there are 78 new cases reported since Friday, raising the total number of cases to 10,147, and one new death brings the total to 390 since the pandemic began.
In licensed nursing and personal care homes, 69,848 residents and 14,460 employees have COVID-19. Of the total deaths in the state, 12,990 have been residents of nursing or personal care facilities.
