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Pennsylvania recorded 3,633 new or probable COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, one of its highest daily totals since late spring.
Hospitalizations rose again on Wednesday morning, with 1,617 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, up from 1,534 on Tuesday. That includes 462 in intensive care, up from 427 on Tuesday.
The state reported 33 new deaths on Wednesday, bringing Pennsylvania’s toll to 28,131. The 33 new deaths are the highest daily amount since early June. The seven-day average daily death in Pennsylvania on Tuesday was 15, according to the Johns Hopkins Tracker.
UPMC infectious disease specialist Dr John Goldman said on Wednesday Pennsylvania’s surge remained far less than that in the worst-affected areas of the country. He attributed it to the above-average COVID-19 vaccination level for the state.
He said continued efforts to vaccinate as much as possible may allow Pennsylvania to avoid flare-ups from states such as Florida, which has seen its highest levels of hospitalizations and deaths since the start of the pandemic.
“As usual, it’s a bit of a race between the virus and the vaccines. If we can get more people vaccinated, that increase will be smaller, ”Goldman said. “If not everyone is vaccinated they are going to end up needing to be immunized with a natural infection, which is not as good, and we will see more cases.”
The push is driven by the delta variant which spreads much faster than previous strains. Experts, including Goldman, say that although infection with COVID-19 causes immunity, immunity does not protect as well as immunity against vaccination. Also, unvaccinated people have a higher risk of becoming seriously ill and dying, while vaccinated people who are infected tend not to get as sick and rarely die.
The state reported an additional 5,277 positive test results Wednesday, which it said came from a file of “old test results dating back to the start” of the pandemic.
As of Tuesday, 81.4% of Pennsylvanians aged 18 or older had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 65.1% of adults were fully immunized.
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