When meeting in person on Wednesday, members of Allegheny County’s Board of Health and the director of the county’s Health Department wore face masks. That’s even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends that masks be worn indoors in much of the U.S., including Allegheny County and all surrounding counties.
The CDC says people can still decide to mask based on personal preference and risk. It appears that the county’s public health leaders are erring on the side of caution. However, it was the first time the group met in person since before the surge of the delta variant, which began last summer.
“The pandemic is not over. There will likely be more phases, possibly new surges and variants, and you may be asked to wear a mask again for a limited time in certain settings,” said Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen. But she added the COVID-19 situation has certainly improved.
Less than two months ago, Allegheny County was recording more than 3,000 new infections per day. In comparison, last week, the county averaged fewer than 180 cases a day. This is both evidence that the highly infectious omicron variant is on its way out and proof that Allegheny County has not yet reached herd immunity.
The Allegheny County residents who are most likely to get severely ill or die from COVID-19 are unvaccinated. County data shows the hospitalization rate for unvaccinated people is nearly 25-times higher than residents who are fully vaccinated and boosted. For fatalities, it’s roughly 27-times greater.
“These statistics are eye-popping,” said Bogen. “If you are unvaccinated, you are taking unnecessary risks.”
At the Board of Health meeting, Bogen shared data on disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates between Allegheny County’s Black and white populations. State data shows that 6 of 10 white people are fully vaccinated; for Black people, it’s less than half. As a result, Black residents are hospitalized and dying from COVID-19 at greater rates.
When asked what the county is doing to get more people vaccinated, Bogen noted her department is working with community health clinics that serve marginalized populations. Department staff members have also gone to senior centers and residences to deliver vaccines and boosters.
Ultimately, Bogen believes at this point the people who want to be vaccinated have generally been vaccinated, and therefore, there’s only so much public health workers can do.
“I think we need to move this into the doctor’s office,” said Bogen, who is a pediatrician by training. “It now needs to go to individual conversations between doctors and patients.”
