Centre County, PA see decline in COVID-19 cases along with drop in vaccine demand
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to show signs of easing in Centre County and Pennsylvania as cases again decreased this week.
Between last Saturday and Friday, the state Department of Health reported 17 cases in the county, two fewer than the previous week. The highest daily total came on Friday, when seven cases were reported.
In all, there have been 16,905 cases, according to the state’s COVID app. The Health Department did not release detailed data Friday due to the Juneteenth holiday.
Cases drop in PA
Across Pennsylvania, there were almost 1,000 fewer cases during the past seven days. Daily totals dropped throughout the week, with the lowest on Friday (272). This week, there were 2,122 cases compared to last week’s total of 3,073.
Overall, there have been 1,209,997 cases statewide.
As of Thursday, there have been 4.7 million negative tests, and 96% of people have recovered.
There were 103 deaths, 29 fewer than the previous week. The total stands at 27,560 across the state. Centre County reported one new death Tuesday to bring the total to 225.
Vaccine demand falls
Pennsylvania has given 11,366,920 vaccine doses as of Friday (excluding Philadelphia and federal facilities). The most recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that: the state has administered first doses to 61.4% of the entire population, which ranks ninth in the country; 58.3% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older are fully vaccinated and 74% have gotten their first dose; and the state ranks fifth for total doses. The CDC figures apply to all 67 counties.
As of Thursday, an average of 34,300 people were vaccinated statewide on a daily basis during the past week. That’s a decrease of about 3,100 from the previous week.
In Centre County, 151,246 vaccinations have been given — 76,712 partial and 74,534 full. Since last Friday, 2,620 doses have been administered. The week before, 3,271 doses were given.
Mount Nittany Medical Center is treating seven COVID-19 patients between ages 58 and 76, Mount Nittany Health said Friday. This month, there has been a daily average of eight COVID patients.
Just less than 50% of Centre County residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. “As we continue to see lower numbers of COVID related hospitalizations, we strongly encourage everyone who is not vaccinated to schedule their appointment as soon as possible to ensure that we continue with this trend,” the health system said in a statement.
Pennsylvanians 12 and older are eligible for the vaccine. Appointments can be made with Mount Nittany at mountnittany.org/coronavirus. Find other providers at vaccines.gov.
Positivity rate shows mixed signs
The state’s positivity rate continues to drop, according to the early warning monitoring system dashboard. The rate fell to 1.4% for the period June 11-Thursday — the previous week’s rate was 1.9%. Centre County’s rate rose slightly to 1.7%; the week before, it stood at 1.6%. The highest rate is Cameron County’s 7.4%.
Centre County’s case rate per 100,000 residents is 10.5, which is flat from the previous week. That’s slightly below the statewide rate of 10.7.
Test site to relocate
The COVID-19 testing site in the Mount Nittany Medical Center parking lot will move to Mount Nittany Health’s Blue Course Drive location June 28. The site will be open 4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday for symptomatic patients by appointment only.
The site will take patients from any provider as long as he or she makes the appointment and faxes the order, Mount Nittany Health said. Appointments can be made by calling 814-234-6106.
This story was originally published June 19, 2021 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Centre County, PA see decline in COVID-19 cases along with drop in vaccine demand."