Allegheny County recorded 90 covid-related deaths in September, officials say

Covid-19 killed 90 people in Allegheny County in September, the highest monthly total since April, said Dr Debra Bogen, county health director.

Since September 1, nine residents aged 25 to 49 have died from the virus, Bogen said. None have been vaccinated. In the same time frame, 16 people aged 50 to 64 died. Three were vaccinated.

“These are young people, all caught too early,” Bogen said. “In most cases, they just didn’t need to die, and in most cases, if they had received the vaccine, they would still be alive.”

A county health spokesperson said officials were not aware of any vaccine-induced deaths.

The county health department on Wednesday had 471 new cases reported among residents, more than double the 196 reported the day before. Statewide, health officials have reported just over 5,000 new cases.

Bogen, however, said she believed the increase in cases in Allegheny County reflected what was happening nationwide: they started to level off and even decline. She said the county averages about 350 to 400 new cases every day.

She said it’s not clear whether hospitalizations and deaths have also peaked, as that number is typically around two weeks behind the increase in the number of cases.

“I think we’ve hit a plateau. I hope our cases start to decrease, ”she said. “In terms of deaths, because they are trailing cases, I don’t know… if we’re at the top or if we still have a few weeks of high levels of deaths.”

Although deaths and hospitalizations have increased in recent weeks, vaccinations have also increased in the county. Over the past week, the number of partially vaccinated county residents fell from around 68,900 to just under 71,400.

Allegheny County Director Rich Fitzgerald said there could be a myriad of reasons for the increase in new vaccinations. Part of that, he said, could be the continuing evidence to support the vaccine.

“Week after week, national and local data both show its effectiveness,” he said.

He noted that he had heard anecdotally more and more local businesses and large employers quietly instituting vaccine requirements, as well as more and more students opting for vaccination.

“I think you’re starting to see places where pretty much everyone is vaccinated, and that drives those numbers up,” he said.