Allegheny County health director: 'I don't expect the situation to improve soon'

The covid-19 situation in Allegheny County remains grim, health director Dr. Debra Bogen said Wednesday, as the county closes in on nearly 2,500 dead from the virus.

Since June, nearly 500 people in the county have died from covid-19, Bogen said.

“Most tragic is that nearly all of these deaths were preventable with vaccines,” she said.

Data related to breakthrough cases resulting in death were not available, though officials say a majority of hospitalizations and deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated.

The county is averaging around 650 new cases each day, and the positivity rate is up to 13.4% — nearing the peak of 14.5% seen during last winter’s surge.

“I don’t expect the situation to improve soon,” Bogen said. “How challenging winter will be here depends on several factors, mostly the choices we make and how we behave in the coming weeks.”

Cases locally and nationwide spiked amid the holiday season last year as people were forced indoors and gathered together.

Bogen said the omicron variant has not yet been detected in Allegheny County, and about 4% of cases are undergoing genomic sequencing to determine what variants are in the area.

Nearly all cases right now are the delta variant, she said.

“If you are unvaccinated, now is the time to get your first vaccine,” Bogen said. “If you are fully vaccinated, now is the time to go get your booster. If you have a child 5 or (older), now is the time to protect them and others from this virus by getting them vaccinated.

“Now is the time,” she said. “Please don’t wait any longer.”