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Berks and Pa. might have turned a corner on the second omicron surge

The latest weekly report of the Pennsylvania Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard shows the worst of the second omicron surge in Berks County and across Pennsylvania might be over in terms of cases, though hospitalizations continue to increase.

The previous most recent weekly numbers available May 29 showed the rate of increase had slowed with the statistics for this midweek report illustrating a downturn in case numbers.

Berks had 734 cases for the week, down from the second omicron peak of 913 reported May 25 and even lower than the May 18 weekly total of 876.

Pennsylvania overall saw a significant decline to about 3,000 daily cases from more than 4,200 daily reported on May 25.

What creates some uncertainty is how much of the apparent case dip was due to the slowdown of test processing during the Memorial Day three-day holiday weekend.

The third omicron derivative, BA.2.12.1, is responsible for the recent surge.

But like its parent and siblings, BA.2.12.1 is less lethal than prior Greek-letter-named variants.

Hospitalizations

Even so, the case surge was still responsible for hospitalizing 42 people in Berks in this week’s update. That was the most since Feb. 16 as the the original omicron surge was winding down.

Of those, two were in the intensive care units in Reading Hospital or Penn State Health St. Joseph. No ventilators were in use for COVID patients in Berks, the weekly update showed.

The Tower Health weekly dashboard update showed that Reading Hospital had 26 COVID patients admitted or under observation, with 14 considered vaccinated and 12 unvaccinated, and one of each in the ICU.

There also had been seven discharges in the previous 24 hours.

The hospitalized totals are not cumulative, unlike the case numbers, but simply a snapshot of the prior 24 hours. Neither dashboard provides the ups and downs between the weekly updates.

The situation is further muddied by the fact that the state only counts those currently being treated in hospitals while Tower includes those under observation.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks only hospital admissions and that number was 36 for the week in Berks.

Among the vaccinated

The state health department issued somewhat updated statistics for what the agency terms post-vaccination COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The most recent figures:

• 61% of the April cases and reinfections were among the fully vaccinated. The May data was partial through the first 11 days though at about the same rate.

• 37% of the April hospitalizations were among the fully vaccinated, with an uptick to 41% for the partial May data.

• 39% of the deaths in March were among the fully vaccinated, down from 47% in February.

To be considered fully vaccinated, a resident must have completed the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or a single shot of the Johnson & Johnson product, of which few are given.

Statistics show 65% of the Berks population of 429,000 qualifies and it’s a higher number across the state. Those numbers have only risen a few points since the bulk of vaccinations were given, which is now well in the rearview mirror in 2021.

About 44% of Berks residents have received a half-dose booster shot or a third full dose for those considered immunocompromised.

The rate drops to single digits in Berks and statewide for those who have received a second half-dose or a fourth shot for the immunocompromised, which is the current recommendation.

BA.2.12.1 has been shown to be somewhat more resistant to the vaccines, and health officials worry that social distancing has ceased and many people are not keeping up with vaccinations as the potency of the shots wanes.

And, no one who dies of any cause after being vaccinated is purged from the vaccination rolls. Months ago, the CDC decided it would cap vaccination rates at 95% in any category that reached that level.

For Pennsylvania overall, those categories are residents with a single shot age 65 and older, and age 18 and older, and age 12 and older. Plus the category of fully vaccinated people age 65 and older is capped at 95%.

In Berks, it’s only the single dose 65-plus group that is capped at 95%.

In 2021, there were several cleanups of vaccination statistics, but nothing notable has occurred in 2022.

Deaths

The county coroner’s office reported eight COVID deaths this week, an unexpected number considering the office went four weeks recently without a single death. The total number of COVID deaths in the county reached 1,465.

The weekly Pennsylvania total for Berks residents was two, which followed four the previous week, increasing the COVID death count to 1,603.

The state reports on deaths of residents wherever they occur and the coroner on deaths within Berks.

Hundreds of Berks residents have died outside the county, and a smaller number of nonresidents have died within Berks.

Other statistics

Berks continues to be considered at moderate risk for COVID, according to the CDC.

There are 27 Pennsylvania counties considered high risk, including those that border Berks on three sides.

To the west, Lancaster and Lebanon counties are among a handful of counties that are considered low risk in Pennsylvania.

Much of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast are moderate or high risk. The regions are seeing the highest percentage of BA.2.12.1 in the country.

More Pa. statistics

• 1,329: Hospitalized count, up 43 in a week and more than triple the early April low point.

• 193: COVID admissions past week, up slightly.

• 151: ICU count, flat.

• 57: deaths in a week, down 10 from the prior week after a decline of 13 the week before.

The downward trend in deaths in Pennsylvania is contrary to the most recent Berks coroner’s report. It’s unclear how many of the eight Berks deaths are among the 57 statewide, or if some were part of the 67 the week before.


Source: Berkshire mont

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