New COVID cases relatively flat in PA. Here are the 3 counties at a high community level

With new cases holding relatively steady over the last week, the number of Pennsylvania counties at a high COVID-19 community level fell to three.

In its Thursday update, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scored three Pennsylvania counties at a high community level. That’s down from last week, when seven counties were considered high.

As of Oct. 14, Crawford, Bradford and Lackawanna counties were at high. In counties with such a designation, the CDC recommends wearing a well-fitting mask in indoor, public settings.

Bradford has been at high for at least three consecutive weeks, while Crawford and Lackawanna were downgraded from a medium COVID-19 community level the week prior.

In all, 28 Pennsylvania counties are at low this week, while 36 are at medium.

Regardless of community level, the CDC recommends all individuals test if they have symptoms and stay up to date on vaccines. Those at higher risk for severe illness should consider masking and other preventative measures at a medium community level.

COVID-19 in Pennsylvania and Centre County

New cases have held relatively steady over the past week, increasing by about 2.5%. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 12,868 new cases for the week from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11. The prior seven-day period had 12,549 recorded new cases.

The CDC, which used seven-day data through Oct. 12, reports the commonwealth’s case rate at 97.1 per 100,000 people.

During that seven-day period ending Wednesday, the CDC also reports 110 new deaths in Pennsylvania from COVID-19, and the state indicates total deaths since the onset of the pandemic have hit 47,442.

As of Wednesday, PDOH reports 1,183 patients hospitalized with the coronavirus, including 139 adult patients in intensive care units and 62 on ventilators. That’s up slightly from the prior week, when 1,165 hospitalizations were reported across the state.

Mount Nittany Health in Centre County was reporting four COVID-19 hospitalizations Thursday, with patient ages ranging from 46 to 86. That’s down from 10 such hospitalizations a week prior.

Across the U.S., new cases, deaths and hospitalizations continue to trend downward, per CDC data, with a daily average of nearly 39,000 new cases and 328 deaths.

In Centre County, which the CDC scored at a low COVID-19 community level as of Thursday, 142 new cases have been reported for the week ending Oct. 12, with a case rate of 87.45 per 100,000 people. Those new cases are up from 106 reported last week, while the case rate increased 33.96%.

The county’s positivity rate, the portion of positive tests over the total number reportedly taken, also ticked up slightly from 8.44% to 8.75%.

COVID-19 bivalent boosters

The downward trend in U.S. cases comes as more individuals in America are eligible to access the updated bivalent booster.

This week, U.S. regulatory agencies approved the new bivalent booster for children ages 5 to 11 who have completed their primary series and not have a COVID-19 shot in the last two months. The updated booster shot was approved for all adults ages 12 and older in September.

The new formula was developed to better target the highly contagious omicron variant and subvariants of the coronavirus.

According the CDC, 36.5% of Pennsylvanians ages 50 and older have received their second booster dose. The Washington Post reports just 4% of eligible Americans have received the new bivalent booster, or more than 11 million individuals.