Keith Mayer: Berks COVID cases and hospitalizations continue rising for 6th week

May 18—Berks County racked up 876 COVID-19 cases and reinfections Wednesday in the second weekly Pennsylvania Department of Health dashboard update.

That's a seven-day average of 125 cases, highest since early February, and 99 for the 14-day, most since later in February.

The daily updates were discontinued after May 4. The weekly update of cases is cumulative for the week that ended with Tuesday.

The weekly COVID case number represents a more than 60% increase from the May 10 total. The 2022 low point in the seven- and 14-day case averages was on April 3.

The averages smooth the uneven processing of tests and provide a trend, which has been up for the past six weeks.

Also rising is the number of people hospitalized in Berks with COVID, which was up to 26 from 18 a week earlier. Of that total, one was in intensive care and seven were on ventilators.

The health department's dashboard does not provide the hospitalization ups and down between the weekly updates.

The health department's count of COVID deaths of Berks residents increased by two to 1,597. It was unclear if those deaths occurred within Berks or somewhere else.

The county coroner's office recorded two deaths and removed one death in its weekly update, and the COVID toll within Berks was up to 1,457.

Reading Hospital

Tower Health's weekly update for Reading Hospital showed 17 patients with one in the ICU and one on a ventilator.

Ten of the patients were considered vaccinated and seven unvaccinated. The ICU patient is listed as vaccinated and the ventilator patient unvaccinated.

The moniker of being vaccinated applies no matter when the patient finished the two-dose course of Pfizer or Moderna products or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Health experts have said many people are long overdue for boosters or extra shots.

Reading Hospital had this emailed statement:

"As the population has reduced social distancing and masking, the opportunities for exposure have dramatically increased, which has been accompanied by a small but noticeable rise in the incidence of illness due to COVID-19. Fortunately, the rise in cases has not yet resulted in high rates of hospitalization.

"Reading Hospital is also experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases attributed to the increase spread of the new variant, BA.2.12.1 which is more infectious than the prior BA.2 strain. This is occurring in both immunized and nonimmunized patients. Among immunized patients, the majority have minimal respiratory symptoms, which attests to the protective nature of the vaccine against severe respiratory symptoms.

"We encourage all patients to stay current with the COVID-19 vaccines including booster doses. We know a portion of the antibodies providing immunity normally diminish with time and can be increased through the administration of boosters or natural exposure to the virus. This is especially important to those who are immunocompromised or have high risk conditions."

CDC statistics

Additional statistics for Berks County available May 18 from the daily U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention update included:

—16: COVID hospital admissions past week

—13.9%: Positivity rate, highest of the second omicron surge

—Risk: Low

—257,054: Fully vaccinated

—113,711: Total number of boosters and extra shots given

The Berks population is 429,000. The CDC doesn't distinguish between first and second boosters, but Pennsylvania does.

The highest category of vaccinations being given the past few weeks are second booster/fourth shot, according to the most recent Pennsylvania health department update.

The next vaccinations update from the state is Friday.

Pa.'s numbers

A composite of COVID stats available through the state and CDC about Pennsylvania overall:

—3.200: daily case average in the past week.

—Eight counties are now considered high risk, including Lehigh, which adjoins Berks on the northeast.

—Eleven counties are now considered moderate risk, including Montgomery to the southeast of Berks and Schuylkill to the north.

—1,156: Hospitalized count, nearly triple the early April low point.

—155: COVID admissions past week.

—135: ICU count, up 39 in a week.

—80: deaths in a week.

—BA.2.12.1: The third omicron derivative is now the majority of cases in the mid-Atlantic.