Allegheny health director: 'Measured cause for optimism' despite pandemic's deadly January toll

Allegheny County saw 236 covid-19-related deaths in January, the third deadliest month since the pandemic began and the deadliest since vaccines became widely available, county health officials said.

Ninety were among those ages 80 and older, 18 were in their 50s and 13 were under the age of 50, the county health director, Dr. Debra Bogen, said Wednesday.

Bogen chided those who might seek to diminish the number of deaths, saying she fears many are “numb to the numbers” after two years.

“I want to be clear that they are 236 real people like you and me — members of our community,” she said. “They are grandparents, parents, children, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors.”

Deaths related to the virus, Bogen said, remain high even as case counts, the positivity rate and hospitalizations begin trending downward. It is a data point that has always lagged behind the others, as it can take days or weeks for the virus to progress to that severity.

Other data points, she said, “bring a measured cause for optimism.”

Case counts

Average case counts have dipped statewide and in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

Three weeks ago, Allegheny County averaged 3,534 cases per day; that’s down to 1,279 over the past seven days.

In Westmoreland County, the week of Jan. 12–18 saw an average of 625 cases per day; that was down to 339 over the past seven days.

With 7,305 new cases posted Wednesday, Pennsylvania’s seven-day case average dipped below 10,000 for the first time since Dec. 26 — to 9,862 per day.

In the past week, there have been a total of 69,032 new cases in the state — just three weeks removed from the high point of over 200,000 cases.

Hospitalizations

Hospitalizations continue to decline not only across the state, but in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

In Allegheny, there are nearly 25% fewer covid patients hospitalized than one week ago and nearly 40% fewer than two weeks ago.

In Westmoreland, those figures are 10% in the past week and nearly 15% in the past two weeks.

In the state, hospitalizations have dropped 25% in the past week — from 5,789 to 4,317.

State official visits Youngwood pharmacy

Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter was on hand for Bogen’s biweekly briefing on the state of the pandemic.

Earlier Wednesday, she visited Hayden’s Pharmacy in Youngwood to encourage anyone eligible to get vaccinated.

She called it crucial for those who can be vaccinated to do so and for those eligible to get a booster shot.

Pharmacy chief executive Edward Christofano said his pharmacy has striven to make the vaccine as accessible as possible in the year since it has been available.

“As I reflect on the last year, I have seen patients’ fear of the covid-19 virus and relief when they received their immunization,” Christofano said. “Over my career, I am honored to provide this service and honored to have a great team of associates support our yearlong journey.”