More COVID-19 hits hit in Pennsylvania, NJ as delta variant causes outbreaks in US

Residents of Pennsylvania and New Jersey are showing up for their first coronavirus vaccines at a slightly increased rate, with the average number of first doses of vaccine given each day across the states increasing slightly.

After weeks of declining vaccination rates, the rise in first-dose injections reflects a slight national increase – although overall, the number of Americans showing up for their first injections remains well below that of the spring. After dropping steadily in the spring and summer, reaching a low in early July, Pennsylvania’s pace has picked up in the past two weeks. In New Jersey, the increase occurred over the past week, after holding relatively steady earlier in July.

With the delta variant of the virus causing outbreaks in other states and public health officials in all corners of the country urging Americans to get vaccinated, the national increase could be in response to fear of the variant – as health officials stress that enough vaccinations could stem its spread – and some of those public health efforts.

In Pennsylvania, the number of new daily COVID-19 cases has increased in recent weeks, but the state has not seen the high level of spread fueling epidemics in states like Louisiana and Missouri.

“Some Pennsylvanians (…) may be more motivated to get vaccinated with the number of COVID-19 cases rising again and the highly transmissible delta variant spreading across the country,” said the spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Mark O’Neill.

At a recent clinic run by Jaisohn Medical Center, which vaccinated Asian, black and Latino residents of northeast Philadelphia and the suburbs, center president George Choe spoke to a man who was awaiting his vaccine, he remembers.

“Why are you waiting so long? He said he asked a group of people. Most responded that they had been busy and did not feel the need to get it. “But a guy finally told me. He said a few weeks ago his wife passed away from COVID. So that pushed them.

The modest increase in first-dose vaccinations also comes amid a series of constant efforts by volunteers, public health officials and community advocates to raise awareness person by person, neighborhood by neighborhood – trying to fight against misinformation to boost vaccination rates. in what has become a slow and individualized process.

State health officials are hoping the increase could be a sign that their advocacy efforts, along with those of independent organizations and doctors, are making a difference, O’Neill said.

There has also been a new push to vaccinate adolescents before the start of the school year. Since it takes five weeks to be fully immunized, public health officials are urging young people to get the vaccine now.

“If we get our young people vaccinated we’ll be in a better place,” Chester City Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland said in a recent interview. The city’s vaccination rate, around 30%, is well below the authorities’ expectations, and the delay in care for young people is one of the reasons. He too feels the urgency brought by the delta variant.

“But now you have this different strain, and if they’re not vaccinated, they’re very susceptible to the new strain.”

On average, Pennsylvania was receiving 6,467 first doses per day on Friday, according to current state data. This is up from the low of 4,474 partial vaccinations on July 8, and it brings the state’s rate to about what it was around the same time last month.

Counting both the first and second dose – not just unvaccinated people who decide to start their injections, but also those who return to complete the vaccination – the state’s seven-day average is 11,200 vaccinations per day.

Still, the numbers for Pennsylvania and the United States are far lower than they were at the height of vaccinations, which peaked in April. Over 75,000 first hits were delivered in one day atop Pennsylvania.

And New Jersey’s rate is yet to return to its June level, although the average number of first doses given over seven days fell from less than 8,000 per day to 9,300 by the end of Monday.

Nationally, 57% of the population has at least one dose. Pennsylvania and New Jersey both have 65% of their populations vaccinated, according to the CDC.

“If you haven’t been vaccinated yet,” said O’Neill of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, “there’s no better time than now to do so.”