Vaccine supply is higher than demand in Allegheny County, officials said on Wednesday
At a press conference, Dr. Debra Bogen, health director and county director Rich Fitzgerald, again encouraged county residents to meet with the vaccine or go for a dose to a county clinic.
All Pennsylvania residents over the age of 16 are eligible for a covid vaccine starting Tuesday.
“It means freedom,” Fitzgerald said.
In general, vaccination rates continue to rise in Allegheny County. Fitzgerald said more than 900,000 shots were fired in the county, inoculating more than 565,000 people. That’s almost 57 percent of the adult population, Fitzgerald said.
About 84% of people aged 65 and over in Allegheny County received at least one dose. Of those 50-64 years old, Bogen said, about 54 percent received at least one dose.
Bogen said the availability of the vaccine has allowed the county to ease restrictions on where people can request a second dose, and the health department puts more emphasis on making it easier for people to get a dose wherever they go. find out.
Students who return to the county from elsewhere or leave Allegheny County after receiving the first dose may seek a second dose wherever they go, Bogen said. Walking availability increases at clinics; and the department will reduce large vaccination sites in the next few weeks in favor of more targeted events.
“Our goal is really to get the vaccine to people where they are,” Bogen said.
Bogen said the health department, like the rest of the state and the nation, is waiting for the “green light” to resume administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was discontinued last week after rare blood clots were identified in six women. those two. weeks after their shooting. One of the women died. More than 6.8 million people received the J&J vaccine in the United States, most without severe side effects.
At Wednesday’s briefing, Bogen said the J&J break was an obstacle.
“She simply gave people who were wondering if they wanted a vaccine an excuse not to get one,” she said.
Bogen noted that the covid death rate in the United States is about 60 times higher than the death rate due to car accidents. Covid contracting is also exponentially more likely to kill someone than to get blood clots from the vaccine, she said, especially among the elderly.
“I don’t want to diminish the serious effects of blood clots,” Bogen said. “I’m just trying to reiterate that the risk of developing these blood clots is extremely rare, about one in a million.”
Pennsylvania officials said last week that the J&J vaccine break would be extended to at least Saturday.
Meanwhile, Allegheny County is still in a “fourth wave” of cases, Bogen said. The daily number of infections has decreased in the last week, on average 350 new cases per day – down from 425 per day in the first 10 days of the month.
“Not where we want to be, but we’ve definitely headed in the right direction,” Bogen said.
Teghan Simonton is a writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Teghan at 724-226-4680, [email protected] or via Twitter .