Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine showcased her staff during a news conference Wednesday, coinciding with the arrival of the first shipment of federally-provided antigen tests.

“We believe we're at the start of the fall resurgence,” Levine said.

Butler County has seen an upward trend over the past few weeks, and the past two days have not proven otherwise.

According to data released daily by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the county added 21 confirmed cases Tuesday and 11 on Wednesday for a two-day total of 33; however, the county's death toll remained at 25 through Wednesday.

Wednesday's news conference served as an update on new initiatives in the state's handling of the COVID-19 crisis, including the receiving of the first shipment of a new antigen rapid test produced by Abbot.

The U.S. government has sent 150 million units of the test throughout the country with 50 million of those reserved for high-risk and underserved populations, according to Michael Huff, director of testing and contact tracing for the state Department of Health.

“Shipments of 250,000 will come weekly (to Pennsylvania) through December,” Huff said.

Huff later explained the new antigen tests for the virus are about the size of a credit card, and will be done by the patient. The card will unfold with a slot in the middle, where the patient will insert a swab.

“It's not a nasal pharyngeal; it's just the (inside of the) nose,” Huff said.

Once inserted, the patient must “twirl (the swab) literally three times,” close the bifold card and wait 15 minutes. A positive result will show two lines on the left of the bifold and one on the right. A negative result will show only one line on each side.

“It's a valuable tool in our tool kit to really address where the disease is and to put mitigation efforts in place,” Huff said.

The news conference also allowed Levine to introduce her team, which has been behind the COVID-19 planning, research and investigations.

While some spoke mostly about reminders regarding at-risk populations and the coinciding resurgence with the ongoing flu season, Cindy Findley, the Department of Health's deputy secretary of health promotion and disease prevention, provided new information about the state's vaccine distribution plans.

Findley said the state has been working with its partners at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who have given department officials a “playbook.”

“Our state plan will be submitted this week to the CDC,” she said.

Findley said it will involve a phased approach with areas most in need of the vaccine likely getting the first batches. “With that approach, our plan will continue to be a living document as each phase of the plan is released,” she said.

Complementing Findley's update, Levine responded to questions about the current trajectory of vaccine trials at the national level. This week, two major trials announced halts due to safety concerns. Levine said two other major trials have continued, but there is no way to know a specific timeline of a completed vaccine.

She said the state's distribution network will be ready, but it needs a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine to get the gears moving. “That is why we had said that science is going to drive this process,” Levine said. “We have to wait for those clinical trials to unfold.”