Cambria leads region for residents fully vaccinated, state reports fewer than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases

Randy Griffith, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 19—Cambria County leads the region in getting residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19, state data show.

The county now has 34,485 residents who are fully vaccinated and another 12,425 who are partially vaccinated, meaning they have received one dose of a two-dose vaccine.

By population, that is 24,688 fully vaccinated for every 100,000 residents. It puts Cambria in 11th place among the state's 67 counties.

Forest County tops the list at 46,640 fully vaccinated per 100,000 and Philadelphia ranks last at 3,445 per 100,000. Allegheny County ranks ninth, with 26,645 per 100,000.

Centre County ranks 12th, Clearfield County is 22nd, Westmoreland County is 24th, Somerset County is 34th, Indiana County is 44th and Bedford County is 64th out of 67 counties.

Statewide, there have been 7,141,842 vaccinations administered, with 2,772,009 now fully vaccinated and another 1,866,102 partially vaccinated.

For the first time in nearly a month, the health department reported fewer than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases on Monday.

Although reports on Mondays generally include fewer cases because there is less testing on weekends, the 1,914 new cases represented the smallest daily increase since March 22 — which was also a Monday.

One death each in Allegheny and Montgomery counties were the only additional fatalities included in Monday's data, putting the state totals at 1,109,291 cases and 25,690 deaths attributed to COVID-19 since the pandemic struck in March 2020.

Cambria added 31 cases, Somerset added seven, Bedford added eight, Blair added 18, Indiana added 11, Clearfield added 19, Centre added 36 and Westmoreland added 40 new cases.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and UPMC on Monday announced a joint effort to educate the community about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Joining the health department's "PA Unites Against COVID" campaign, the two organizations will promote its materials. The Penguins will feature these materials at PPG Paints Arena at their home games.

"Vaccination remains a critical component of our COVID-19 mitigation efforts — which also include masking, distancing and hand washing," Dr. Donald M. Yealy, UPMC chief medical officer, said in a press release. "The COVID-19 pandemic isn't over yet, so we must remain vigilant over these next few months to keep everyone safe."