County, state see another virus surge

New COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania increased by 1,541 last week, compared with the prior seven days, as infections go up and more people are sent to the hospital with the virus.

According to the state Department of Health, the commonwealth reported 8,912 new cases of the virus between Aug. 6-12, up from 7,371 new infections the week prior. The latest numbers show how infections have grown substantially since the end of June; on June 24, there were just 1,384 cases statewide in one week.

More people are being hospitalized, too, with an average of nearly 835 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on a given day last week, representing an increase of 278. And more of them are on ventilators, with a daily average of almost 99 patients needing them, going up from an average of about 65 last

week.

The information, taken from the state’s COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard, shows how many metrics related to the coronavirus are going in a worse direction as the more-contagious delta variant becomes widespread throughout the country.

A greater share of those tested are getting positive results, with statewide positivity increasing from 5.4% to 6% last week. At the end of June, positivity dropped as low as 1.2%, a sign of the virus’s roaring comeback as vaccinations have lagged behind where they were in the spring.

A surge in cases also was noted in Allegheny County. According to the state Department of Health, 1,167 new cases were reported in the county between Aug. 6-12, counting both confirmed and probable cases.

In the previous week, the number of new cases totaled 1,002, making last week’s case count a nearly 16.5% increase over the former week’s numbers.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized a third dose of the PfizerBioNTech and Moderna vaccines for people who are immunocompromised. People with organ transplants and similarly weakened immune systems, who are at higher risk for severe COVID-19, are among those cleared for an additional shot. Most people require only two doses of those vaccines right now.

Shortly after the update, UPMC announced it would be offering those third doses. People who have had cancer or are taking medications that suppress the immune system could be eligible for the extra shot, the health care network said.

Dr. Lee Harrison, professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh, said two doses didn’t provide the adequate immune response for people who are immunocompromised.

“The good news is that they have a good likelihood of responding favorably by producing antibodies to a third dose and becoming protected against COVID19,” he said.

Dr. Alfred L’Altrelli, who is based in UPMC’s Outpatient Center on the South Side, said his facility started giving vaccines on Friday and had inoculated 25 people so far.

“Yesterday, we started giving vaccines on day one,” he said. “We wanted to be ready to go. We knew we’d have lots of patients in the community asking and looking for this, and we wanted to be there.”

People who are just over 65 years old don’t necessarily qualify, Dr. L’Altrelli said, but patients with autoimmune issues or chronic inflammatory diseases might be eligible.

The shots are especially important, he said, because many of these patients haven’t had begun a return to normal. They may still be isolating because their vaccines haven’t given them the same protections, he said.

“As we’ve been giving them vaccines, they’ve been excited, more jubilant in their expression, just like the early days of [the vaccine] because it is so meaningful,” he said.