Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
New COVID-19 cases in Bucks County have continued dropping. However, deaths reached a new high not seen since last winter.
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There were 2,728 new COVID-19 infections reported last week in Bucks County. It marked a continued drop since a record high of nearly 10,000 new cases in a week to start 2022, according to Pennsylvania Department of Health data. The number of new infections is likely an under count as many at-home positive tests aren’t recorded in the official number.
The COVID-19 test positivity rate for Bucks County decreased from 27.6 percent the week prior to 20.1 percent last week. A test positivity rate higher than 5 percent means health experts consider the spread of COVID-19 uncontrolled.
Since the authorized COVID-19 vaccinations have rolled out, a more important figure has become the number of hospitalizations and deaths among those with COVID-19.
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On Tuesday, there were 163 Bucks Countians with COVID-19 in area hospitals. A total of 28 of them were in intensive care and 13 were on ventilators. COVID-19 hospitalizations have fallen in recent weeks in Bucks County from all-time highs, according to Bucks County Department of Health data.
About 70 percent of the county’s most seriously ill COVID-19 patients were unvaccinated, according to county data.
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The Bucks County Department of Health considers people with two shots fully vaccinated and uses that for their metric, while federal officials consider someone fully vaccinated when they have three shots.
Last week, the number of COVID-19 deaths in Bucks County reached 31, a high not seen since late 2020.
Deaths often lag several weeks behind peaks in the number of cases.
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As of Tuesday in Bucks County, there were 91,988 people who were partially vaccinated and 382,302 people had received two doses, according to state data.
Since third doses and booster shots were approved in mid-August, a total of 162,637 third doses were administered in the county.
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The rate of vaccinations in Bucks County has slowed in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases have dropped.
A total of 75 percent of Bucks Countians have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to federal data.
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The three COVID-19 vaccines in use have been proven safe and effective. For more information on how to get vaccinated, click here.
Since the pandemic began, there have been 119,011 COVID-19 cases in Bucks County and 1,751 deaths.
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