Feb. 19 update: Mount Nittany seeks COVID-19 vaccine clinic help; Centre adds 50 cases

Mount Nittany Health put out a call for volunteers Friday to help vaccinate community members against COVID-19.

The health system is seeking “active or retired licensed health care professionals such as nurses, pharmacists, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, nursing students and medical students to help administer” the vaccines.

Those interested in the posts are asked to visit Mount Nittany’s COVID Vaccination Volunteer page for more information and to apply. The health system said it has given more than 11,000 doses so far and has scheduled more than 7,000 doses in the future. More than 1,300 vaccines have been given this week with more than 800 scheduled Friday.

Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said Friday that the week’s winter weather has delayed vaccine shipments to providers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the state Health Department that inclement weather across the country “significantly” affected Moderna and Pfizer vaccine shipping hubs. Mount Nittany Health said Friday that its appointments are not affected by the delays.

“Weather this week has been challenging in terms of getting vaccine delivered from manufacturers directly to vaccine providers in Pennsylvania and across the country,” Beam said in a statement. “As we have been emphasizing, we are working with our vaccine providers to ensure they are aware of the shipment delays as they continue to be in contact with people who have scheduled appointments to reschedule so that people are assured their vaccine.”

Moderna vaccines were not released from the distributor Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, the Health Department said. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were not sent out on Monday, and a limited number of vaccines were sent Tuesday and Wednesday.

“There will be a significant backlog of orders for distribution as the federal government and the distributors work to begin shipping again,” the Health Department said. “The federal government is working to catch up as efficiently as possible.”

The White House said Friday that the nation will be able to catch up, but vaccinators may have to work extra hours.

The Associated Press reported about 6 million doses were affected by the three-day shipping delay. Coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt said the vaccine is “safe and sound” in warehouses, AP said. About 1.4 million doses were to be shipped Friday and the backlog was expected to be cleared in a few days.

“We as an entire nation will have to pull together to get back on track,” Slavitt told reporters at the White House coronavirus briefing, AP said.

Mount Nittany Medical Center is treating 14 COVID-19 patients between the ages of 19 and 79, a spokesperson said Friday. This month, there have been a total of 66 patients, with an average of 19 per day. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nirmal Joshi said those are the lowest counts since mid-November. In January, there were 211 COVID-19 patients with an average daily count of 41.

“While hospitalizations are down, it cannot be stressed enough that we must all continue to consistently follow COVID safety protocols,” Joshi said in Mount Nittany’s weekly update. “This includes masking, avoiding large gatherings, social distancing and frequent hand washing.”

Earlier this week, the health system opened a waitlist for vaccine appointments at mountnittany.org/coronavirus. Mount Nittany continues to make scheduling calls to at-risk patients, and Joshi said officials “remain committed to continuing to vaccinate our community as long as it takes.”

Centre County reported 50 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday to bring the total to 12,519. Overall, there have been 11,572 confirmed cases and 947 probable cases along with 60,223 negative tests. The state Department of Health continues to list 206 deaths in the county.

Pennsylvania’s daily case totals have remained below 5,000 all month. On Friday, the state reported 2,778 new cases, which brings the total to 908,773. There have been 3.81 million negative tests and 88% of people have recovered statewide.

There have been 23,480 deaths, an increase of 67.

Across Pennsylvania (excluding Philadelphia and federal prisons and veterans hospitals), 1.87 million vaccine doses have been administered to 1.39 million people. In Centre County, 20,857 first doses and 4,960 second doses have been given.

Hospitalizations across the state have continued to drop since a December peak but are at a level comparable to the springtime peak, the Health Department said. There are 2,124 patients in a hospital with 467 in intensive care.

The breakdown of confirmed Centre County cases by ZIP code, and the change from the previous day (if any), is as follows, according to the Health Department:

• 16801 (State College): 4,559 (+8)
• 16823 (Bellefonte/Pleasant Gap): 2,137 (+13)
• 16803 (State College): 1,081 (+4)
• 16686 (Tyrone): 896 (+1)
• 16802 (University Park): 818 (+2)
• 16866 (Philipsburg): 716 (+2)
• 16870 (Port Matilda): 372
• 16841 (Howard): 315 (+4)
• 16845 (Karthaus): 253
• 16828 (Centre Hall): 235 (+1)
• 16875 (Spring Mills): 223
• 16827 (Boalsburg): 219 (+1)
• 16844 (Julian): 161
• 16822 (Beech Creek): 157 (+1)
• 16666 (Osceola Mills): 143
• 16853 (Milesburg): 113
• 16874 (Snow Shoe): 89 (+2)
• 16877 (Warriors Mark): 89 (+1)
• 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 73
• 16854 (Millheim): 58 (+1)
• 16826 (Blanchard): 57 (+1)
• 16829 (Clarence): 54
• 16872 (Rebersburg): 53
• 16820 (Aaronsburg): 46
• 16851 (Lemont): 44
• 16859 (Moshannon): 40
• 16856 (Mingoville): 28
• 16677 (Sandy Ridge): 22
• 16832 (Coburn): 22
• 16868 (Pine Grove Mills): 22
• 16860 (Munson): 20
• 16852 (Madisonburg): 17
• 16835 (Unionville): 11
• 16864 (Orviston): 10
• 16804 (State College): 8
• 16882 (Woodward): 8

The state does not identify exactly where a case occurred in a ZIP code that spans multiple counties.

Five new cases were reported in residents of Centre County nursing homes. There have been 688 resident cases, 146 employee cases and 157 deaths at 17 long-term care facilities.

Across Pennsylvania, there have been 65,908 resident cases, 12,790 employee cases and 12,215 resident deaths at 1,562 nursing and personal care homes.

This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 12:22 PM.