Vaccine allotment drops significantly

Pennsylvania’s total allotment of coronavirus vaccines will drop by a third next week due to an 88% decrease in the number of Johnson & Johnson doses assigned to Pennsylvania and Philadelphia combined.

This week saw a record 192,700 Johnson & Johnson doses. Next week, there will be only 22,800, according to records from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The CDC administers Philadelphia separately from the other 66 Pennsylvania counties for vaccination programs.

Doses of the Moderna vaccine will hold steady at a combined 133,800 first doses, while the Pfizer formulation will increase by about 3,500 doses to 181,350.

While the 33% reduction is substantial, it is a cut from a record 504,000 doses allocated this week, so the total 338,000 doses for next week will place it as the fourth-highest amount shipped to Pennsylvania in the 17 weeks of the federal vaccination program. But the constrained supply will pose a challenge to any attempted acceleration of the state’s vaccination programs.

Some of the shortfall may be made up by a separate program that ships vials directly to retail pharmacies, but the amount to be shipped next week for that program is not yet available. Last week, more than 400 pharmacies in the 66 counties administered by the state Health Department received almost 159,000 doses.

The supply of vaccines may be limited, but the supply of virus is not, especially in northeast Pennsylvania.

The state Health Department reported 4,643 additional cases Wednesday. The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases was 4,206, up 4% from 4,034 a week ago, and up 74% over the last 30 days.

Wyoming County remains far and away the leader for population-adjusted case rates over the last week, with 76 additional cases per day per 100,000 residents. It is followed by Northampton (51), Monroe and Bradford (49), and Clearfield (44 cases per day per 100,000). Lehigh County ranks eighth with 41 cases per day per 100,000 residents.

As a contrast, Cameron and Crawford counties are adding cases at a rate of slightly less than 10 per day per 100,000 population.

To date, there have been 1.05 million infections statewide since the start of the pandemic.

Close to 38% of Pennsylvanians age 16 and over — 3.96 million people — have gotten at least one of the 6.36 million vaccinations administered in the state, according to data combined from the state and Philadelphia health departments. More than 2.4 million people are fully immunized against COVID19 — about 23% of those eligible — and another 1.56 million — 15% of those eligible — are waiting for their follow-up jab.

Vaccine providers in the Lehigh Valley have stuck 369,000 syringes into 241,000 arms, accounting for about 44% of the local 16-and-over population. Close to 128,000 Valley residents — 23.3% — are fully immunized, while another 113,000 — 21% — are waiting for their second shot.

The state reported 48 deaths compared with 37 Tuesday. The seven-day moving average of deaths per day is 27, a decrease of more than 11% over the past week.

There were 2,425 people hospitalized as of midday Wednesday, compared with 2,384 Tuesday. Of those, 231 were on ventilators, and 484 were in intensive care beds. Daily hospitalizations are up about 16% in the last week and more than 40% in the last two weeks.

Local hospitals report 184 COVID patients Wednesday, compared with 183 the day before. There are 28 patients in intensive care and 13 on ventilators.

The Lehigh Valley reported 277 additional cases, 126 in Lehigh County, 151 in Northampton County. That brings the total to 66,635.

No new deaths were reported in the region Wednesday; the death toll remains 1,492 (811 in Lehigh, and 681 in Northampton).