State Hits Several COVID-19 Milestones – Some Good, Some Bad

Pennsylvania hit three COVID-19 milestones this week, but not all were good news.  While the state hit  the 70% threshold for full vaccinations of adults, it also passed the 30,000 death mark, and reached a total of more than 1.5 million positive cases.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday that 70 percent of Pennsylvania's adult population is now fully vaccinated. "Today, the commonwealth has reached a milestone in our fight against this deadly virus," said Gov. Wolf. "Now, 70 percent of Pennsylvania's adults have accepted their responsibility to stop the spread of COVID-19 and most importantly keep themselves and their loved ones safe. This milestone is critical to protect those not yet eligible for the vaccine, like our children under 12 years of age."

As of October 13, Pennsylvania vaccine providers had administered 13,135,136 COVID-19 vaccines.  According to the CDC, as of Thursday, Pennsylvania ranks 5th among all 50 states for total doses administered.

Sadly, and with little note or fanfare, the Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed October 12 that the Commonwealth had passed the 30,000 COVID-19 death mark, and by the end of the day Thursday, Oct. 14, the total had risen to 30,418 deaths attributed to COVID-19. County-specific information and a statewide map are available on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard.

And on Friday, October 15, the Department figures showed that day’s 5,725 additional positive cases of COVID-19, brought the statewide total of confirmed cases to 1,502,124.  That represents 11.55 percent of the state’s population.