Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 community levels are mostly low. Could BA.5 change that?
Pennsylvania counties are largely at a “low” COVID-19 community levels, the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.
Only Juniata, Clinton and Lycoming counties are rated as having “high” level as of Friday, a metric that looks at new cases and the capacity of local health care providers to deal with the pandemic.
That said, there are still high levels of virus transmission in just about every Pennsylvania county, and the latest omicron strain – BA.5 – is unleashing a wave of cases across the country.
BA.5 has become the dominant strain in the U.S., with Scripps Research Professor Eric Topol, who tracks pandemic trends, calling it “the worst version of the virus that we’ve seen.”
So where does Pennsylvania stand? And what do you need to know about this new coronavirus strain?
Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 community levels
The CDC updates its COVID data tracker Thursday evenings, and as of July 15, more than half of Pennsylvania counties have low community levels.
The CDC factors in new cases per 100,000 people and new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people, both seven-day totals. The metric also includes the percentage of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients using a seven-day average.
The CDC uses the levels to help signal what actions individuals and communities should take based on local risk, with only the high level carrying the recommendation that all individuals wear masks in public regardless of vaccination status.
Anyone who has contact with a COVID-positive person – or who has symptoms – should get tested and mask up if they have to be in public spaces.
Separately, looking at community transmission alone, only five Pennsylvania counties are out of the “high,” red zone. They include Tioga, Sullivan, Snyder, Bedford and Forest counties, and virus transmission is still substantial in those places.
Where does Centre County stand?
CDC data show Centre County’s case rate over the previous seven days, as of Friday afternoon, was 128.71. Its positivity rate stood at 9.8%.
Statewide, the positivity ranges between 10% and 15%, with 125 deaths over the previous seven days.
About 61% of Centre County’s total population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
What should I know about BA.5?
BA.5 is particularly adroit at evading immune protection, either from vaccination or previous infection, according to Reuters.
For a lot of people, even those who previously contracted omicron, this means catching COVID-19 again.
According to Reuters, while there are rising hospitalizations in some countries, deaths have not increased dramatically due to the BA.5 wave.
Coronavirus vaccines continue to protect against severe illness and death, if not infection altogether.
According to the World Health Organization’s Maria Van Kerkhove, its technical lead on COVID-19, there is no current evidence that BA.5 is more dangerous than its omicron siblings.