Mask Mandate Essentially Lifted in Pennsylvania, Effective Immediately
Fully vaccinated people in Pennsylvania (except for Philadelphia) no longer have to wear masks in most places effective immediately, the state’s Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam announced Thursday afternoon following a similar announcement from the CDC.
Earlier this afternoon the CDC significantly eased mask guidance saying that fully vaccinated Americans could stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings. They also removed the need for social distancing for those who are fully vaccinated.
“Today’s guidance from the CDC affects only people who are fully vaccinated,” she wrote.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has transitioned to another COVID-19 vaccine locator map in an effort to ensure patients can get their shots closer to home.
On Friday, Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam announced the switch from the PA Vaccine Provider Map to VaccineFinder, found at vaccine.gov. VaccineFinder allows patients “to ensure people can get vaccinated close to home and with the vaccine they may prefer,” and permits individuals to select either the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines as per their preference.
Patients can enter their ZIP code, preferred vaccine or vaccines and their search radius, and the site will provide a list of vaccine providers and information on their stock of vaccine.
55 Pa. counties have substantial spread of COVID-19, positive test rate rises slightly
Updated Apr 20, 2021;
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Even as the state’s vaccination rollout improves, most of Pennsylvania’s counties are showing substantial spread of COVID-19, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said Tuesday.
Across Pennsylvania, 55 of the state’s 67 counties are showing high transmission of the coronavirus, according to the Wolf administration. Last week, 50 counties showed substantial spread of the coronavirus.
The positive test rate for COVID-19 rose to 9.6% for the week of April 9-15, a slight increase from 9.5% the previous week. The positive test rate has now risen for five consecutive weeks, although the rate has only increased by a tenth of a percentage point in each of the past two weeks.
HARRISBURG â The Pennsylvania Department of Health has directed all vaccine providers in the state to âpauseâ the administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine until at least April 20 following reports that six people who received it developed blood clots.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration recommended the pause after six women between 18 and 48 years old in the United States developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a rare but severe type of blood clot, within six to 13 days of receiving the J&J vaccine.
About 6.8 million people nationwide have received the J&J vaccine, which puts the odds of experiencing this side effect at more than one in a million, making it exceedingly rare. Pennsylvania has administered 262,739 of those doses, Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said during a news briefing Tuesday.
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