GOP leaders call for task force to meet to fight covid surge; Wolf says it still meets
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A group of key Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, have urged Gov. Tom Wolf to reconvene a state covid-19 joint task force as hospitals across Pennsylvania are besieged by new cases and shrinking bed space.
“The information-sharing capabilities established through the development of the task force helped Pennsylvania lead the nation in vaccine improvements and could once again be used to help bridge the information gap between hospital systems to better serve patients,” said Erica Clayton Wright, a spokeswoman for Ward.
The Hempfield Republican could not be reached for comment.
Reconvening the task force won’t be necessary, Wolf said. The panel never stopped meeting and sharing information with legislators.
In fact, the joint task force consisting of Republican and Democratic lawmakers from both the Senate and House met as recently as two weeks ago, Wolf said in a statement. He said his administration continues to share information with the legislators about key pandemic-related matters, and the state Department of Health has held monthly briefings with legislators.
A letter to Wolf signed by Ward and three other top GOP elected officials — Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte; House Speaker Bryan Cutler of Lancaster; and House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, Centre County — stated Pennsylvania’s health systems could benefit from the bipartisan collaboration with several statewide and community partners involved.
The task force, created last February, could provide the best mechanisms for sharing information and quickly communicating solutions with the General Assembly, hospitals, health systems and residents, the letter stated.
The letter came on the heels of hospitals in the state issuing warnings that they were operating at or near capacity, caused in large part by unvaccinated covid patients. Geisinger, one of the state’s largest health systems, said it was at 110% capacity in its nine hospitals in central and northeastern Pennsylvania.
All UPMC facilities are operating at or over capacity, said spokeswoman Susan Manko, though she stressed all of its hospitals are open and care is available.
UPMC in the past week was treating about 840 covid patients across all facilities. The inpatient numbers peaked at 1,250 in December 2020, Manko said.
About 75% of the covid patients being treated at UPMC hospitals are not vaccinated. The 25% who are vaccinated “are either immunocompromised or elderly,” Manko said.
More than 650 Pennsylvanians have died from covid in the past week, according to the state health department.
Wolf said unvaccinated people “continue to drive this surge upon our health systems.” He said he asked legislators in September to help hospitals by urging their constituents to get vaccinated.
There is a surge in covid cases, despite the state having administered more first vaccination shots than any of the 10 most populous states.