Each afternoon, we'll be sharing a roundup of the day's latest updates and headlines around the coronavirus pandemic and vaccine rollout in Allegheny County and across Pennsylvania.
Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021
Pennsylvania is facing a temporary shortage of booster shots of the Moderna vaccine after providers mistakenly used them as first doses.
State health officials say the error could mean more than 100,000 people will need appointments rescheduled. The second-dose shortage does not affect the Pfizer vaccine. Pennsylvania has been holding second doses in reserve to ensure they will be available for residents who have gotten the initial shot.
The state's acting health secretary Alison Beam says inconsistent vaccine supply, confusion about deliveries and a lack of clear communication caused the problem.
1/2“On a call with providers approximately two weeks ago, the PA Department of Health specifically directed providers to not hold back COVID-19 vaccine doses for second vaccinations,” said Penn State Health spokesman Scott Gilbert in a statement.
— Brett Sholtis (@BrettSholtis) February 17, 2021
Allegheny County’s largest COVID-19 vaccine suppliers say they have not used their second doses to increase the number of first doses administered. UPMC, Allegheny Health Network and the Allegheny County Health Department manage more than two-thirds of the county’s vaccine supply. All three providers say they’ve kept first dose and second dose supplies separate.
More than 12,000 people in Pennsylvania’s nursing homes have died from COVID-19.
As state Democratic lawmakers search for ways to improve care in the facilities, the commonwealth’s largest health care union says it’s time to increase the minimum staffing ratio required by law.
Licensed Practical Nurse Artenise Malachi worked at the Charles Morris nursing home in Pittsburgh’s historically Jewish Squirrel Hill neighborhood. She says it was heartbreaking to see people who survived Nazi concentration camps spend months isolated from family, while staff tried their best to spend time with them.
“A lot of these people survived the holocaust. And to have to survive COVID, a pandemic,” she said.
The nursing home closed in January, financially destroyed by the pandemic.
The residents were moved from the top-ranked nursing home to other facilities, and Malachi says, 50 of them have died in the weeks since.
She was one of several people to speak to the House Democrats as they mull ways to improve conditions for residents and workers, and potentially provide funding for cash-strapped facilities.
The union is calling on lawmakers to increase the minimum staffing ratio from two point seven hours per day per resident to four point one hours -- a move experts say will improve care.
The University of Pittsburgh is reporting 11 more students and more faculty and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 at main campus since the school's last update on Feb. 12. A dozen students are in isolation. Pitt is also reporting four new cases at its regional campuses in Bradford and Johnstown.
- White House announces expanded COVID-19 testing, manufacturing and virus sequencing
- Pitt doctor helped review, approve Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
LATEST NUMBERS
Allegheny County:
- 215 new cases
- 26 new deaths, two of which occurred in January
Pennsylvania:
- 3,413 new cases
- 193 new deaths
- 2,356 hospitalizations
- 491 patients in ICU
- 1,749,949 vaccine doses administered
