Vaccine numbers on the rise as COVID cases fall

Penn Highlands Healthcare released an update on its COVID-19 vaccination program on Wednesday, saying that as of Tuesday, PHH had administered approximately 30,000 doses, largely to recipients in the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s phase 1a.

Those who are included in that classification include any individuals 65 and older in addition to anyone aged 16-64 with specified medical conditions.

Penn Highlands primary care physicians continue to call patients in this phase for scheduling, the release said, or individuals may call the Penn Highlands COVID Vaccine Information Line at 814-503-4735 to be placed on a waiting list. PHH noted that the vaccine remains at limited supply.

On a similar note, Jefferson County’s vaccination report for Wednesday showed that 41 new residents received their first dose of the vaccine on Tuesday and another 226 received their second. In total, 8,324 county residents how have received at least one dose — 5,046 with one dose and 3,278 with both. That equates to 1 in every 5.21 who have at least one dose of the vaccine at this time.

In Clearfield County, an 410 residents received their first dose on Tuesday, with the same number getting their second dose. So far, 12,012 residents — 1 in every 6.59 have at least one dose.

In Indiana County, the number of vaccines received increased by 161 (50 first doses and 111 second) on Tuesday and now sits at 9,026. That equates to 1 in every 9.31 residents of the county.

Statewide, 3,172,900 doses of the vaccine will have been allocated through Feb. 27, 225,890 first doses and 180,610 second doses.

A total of 2,083,277 doses were administered through Tuesday. For first doses, 1,498,265 have been administered, and for second doses, the count is 585,012.

Jefferson County also reported some harrowing news on Wednesday, as one more death was reported as a result of the virus. With that, the total increased to 87, meaning one in every 500 residents have now died as a result of COVID-19.

Clearfield and Indiana County did not report any new deaths, leaving their respective totals at 114 and 158.

Regarding case counts, Clearfield County saw the largest jump, increasing by 26 to 6,195 in total. Jefferson and Indiana counties each increased by six on Wednesday for respective totals of 2,774 and 5,033.

On the state level, there were 2,786 additional positive cases of COVID-19 reported Wednesday, bringing the running total to 920,634.