by PublicSource
Allegheny County is planning to provide booster shots for the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, following a new CDC recommendation, Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said in a Wednesday briefing.
“The data do support the recommendations made by the CDC,” said Bogen, referencing a federal report that found the vaccines’ protection has weakened with the emergence of new variants. “We’ve always followed the CDC guidance, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Experts have called for the booster shots to prioritize immunocompromised or other populations who would be most vulnerable to the vaccines’ reduced efficacy. Though there has been an increase in the share of breakthrough cases in Allegheny County, Bogen noted that fully vaccinated people are still far less likely to experience severe complications or hospitalization from the virus.
The county has yet to work out exactly what the booster shot rollout will look like, Bogen said, but authorities plan to leverage experience gained over the last several months to administer the vaccines.
“We’re still seeing very very very few hospitalizations among those vaccinated,” Bogen said. “But we are seeing a higher number of people who have some symptomatic, mild illness who’ve been vaccinated.”
Breakthrough cases account for about 30% of infections in a subset of county testing data from the last 14 days. Countywide data is not available. Over 56% of Allegheny County’s population has been fully vaccinated.
The CDC classifies Allegheny County has having high community spread. Daily cases in the county continued to rise in the last week, and the county is now seeing about 200 new cases per day. The total number of hospitalizations increased as well, Bogen said.
While other cities, including New York City and Philadelphia, have enacted stronger vaccine requirements for indoor venues, county executive Rich Fitzgerald said Allegheny County isn’t considering any similar measures. He added that many local businesses have already imposed their own vaccine requirements.
Fitzgerald said he would consider strengthening vaccine requirements for county employees once the vaccines, which are being rolled out under an emergency use authorization, are fully approved
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With ‘high’ community spread, county officials urge vaccinations and plan for boosters
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