by PublicSource Reporters
As cases surge in the United States, early results from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trials indicate it may be 90% effective at shielding individuals from the virus, according to a Monday press release.
What will that mean for Pennsylvanians?
“We don’t know when exactly we’re going to see it, but it was a very positive announcement from Pfizer, that their vaccine has been shown to be very effective,” said Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine in a press conference Monday.
The company plans to apply for Food and Drug Administration approval later this month, which the agency could fast-track. Pennsylvania can’t make any use of this vaccine until after FDA approval, Levine said.
Levine also noted that the nature of this vaccine, which needs to be kept at extremely cold temperatures, could pose problems.
“But we’ve already reached out to hospitals and health systems to be able to accomplish that,” Levine said. “So we stand ready to distribute and administer the vaccine in Pennsylvania according to the prioritization set by the federal government when the federal government releases the vaccine.”
The Allegheny County Health Department [ACHD] reported 530 new COVID-19 cases and five new hospitalizations from the virus but no new deaths — the totals cover 48 hours. This brings the county-wide totals to 17,656 positive cases, 1,533 hospitalizations and 447 deaths.
The state’s health department reported 6,311 new positive cases of COVID-19 Monday — 2,909 reported for Sunday and 3,402 reported for Monday. In the past 48 hours, the department also reported nine new deaths. Additionally, 1,652 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 352 of which in an intensive care unit.
COVID-19 tests in Pennsylvania came back positive about 7% of the time this week, up from 6% last week, according to Levine.
“That is one indicator of how we know that the increase is not just due to increased testing. It’s due to increased number of cases of COVID-19 in our counties and in our commonwealth,” Levine said.
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. (Pennsylvania Department of Health)
About Post Author
