The Pennsylvania Department of Health provided a weekly COVID-19 update as of Monday, January 10. Health officials have also extended the Berks County testing site in Bern Township due to the local increase in case counts.
“Getting a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine is the best thing we can do to help the healthcare workers across the state who are overwhelmed by the number of patients with COVID-19 who need specialized and extensive care as hospitals are nearing capacity,” Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said. “Sadly, the risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19 is significantly higher for those that are unvaccinated.”
“While initial data suggest that fewer patients are being admitted specifically for COVID-19, there are more patients who test positive upon arrival,” Klinepeter said. “In talking to healthcare workers and hospital leaders, it is clear that regardless of why they are admitted to the hospital, every patient with COVID-19 places significant strain on healthcare workers because they require additional care and precautions such as isolation and PPE.”
“That is why we continue to urge every Pennsylvanian to continue to take public health measures that we know will help to preserve inpatient capacity for those who need it most,” she said. “Please get vaccinated and boosted, wear a mask, social distance, get tested, and follow all applicable isolation and quarantine guidelines.”
Weekly Update
According to the CDC, as of Monday, Jan. 10, 74.6% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated. This percentage reflects all 67 counties in Pennsylvania.
If you or your loved ones are not yet vaccinated, now is the time to get fully vaccinated, get boosted, and get children ages 5 – 18 vaccinated. Visit vaccines.gov to find a vaccine provider near you to schedule your vaccine appointment.
This week, the Department of Health analyzed the following vaccine data within its 66-county vaccine jurisdiction; Philadelphia is a separate vaccine jurisdiction: 313,260 vaccine doses were administered in the past week, including: 154,179 booster doses administered in the past week.48,395 pediatric doses administered in the past week. 16.2% increase in vaccines administered from previous week.
Here is a statewide summary of COVID-19 trends over the past 7 days Monday, Jan. 3 –Sunday, Jan. 9: The daily average number of cases was 27,545.
The number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday, Jan. 10 was 18.3 percent higher than on Jan. 3. The percent of available adult and pediatric ICU beds in the state fell to 13.8% and rose to 12.4%, respectively.
Approximately 31% of all staffed adult ICU beds are COVID-19 patients. 32.7% of all ventilators statewide are in use.
Testing in Berks County
Testing by the Department of Health is taking place in Bern Township in the parking lot at Berks DES, 2561 Bernville Road, Reading, PA 19605.
The site is remaining open due to continued high case numbers in Berks and continued use of the testing facility.
Testing will continue to be offered Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 10am to 7pm, and Saturday from 9am to 3pm. The site is drive up, first come, first serve. Only 450 tests are available per day. No insurance required, only a photo ID. The site will be open until January 29.
