Credit: Ilka Cole
Bucks County received some welcome news in the fight against COVID-19 last week.
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According to Pennsylvania Department of Health data, there were 1,420 new infections reported in the county. However, the number of new infections is likely an under count as many at-home positive tests aren’t recorded in the official number.
The latest number is a large drop from a record high of nearly 10,000 new cases in the first week of 2022.
The COVID-19 test positivity rate for Bucks County dropped from 20.1 percent the week prior to 13.3 percent last week. A test positivity rate higher than 5 percent means health experts consider the spread of COVID-19 uncontrolled.
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With the majority of eligible residents vaccinated, a more important figure has become the number of hospitalizations and deaths among those with COVID-19.
There were 109 Bucks Countians were in hospitals with COVID-19, 24 in intensive care, and 15 on ventilators as of Tuesday.
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The majority of those in local hospitals with COVID-19 were unvaccinated, continuing a months-long trend, according to the Bucks County Department of Health.
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.
The number of residents in hospitals with COVID-19 has dropped in recent weeks.
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The number of COVID-19 deaths in Bucks County last week was 9, a dramatic decrease from the 31 seen the week prior.
State data showed there were 91,573 people who were partially vaccinated and 384,694 people had received two doses in Bucks County to start the week.
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Since third doses and booster shots were approved in mid-August, a total of 164,427 third doses were administered in the county.
A total of 75 percent of Bucks Countians have received at least one dose of one of the 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 120,177 COVID-19 cases in Bucks County and 1,777 deaths.
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