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HARRISBURG, PA Pennsylvania has surpassed 15,000 coronavirus deaths, officials reported on Monday.
The grim milestone was reached after there were 203 new coronavirus deaths reported over the weekend. There were 127 new deaths reported Saturday and 76 new deaths reported Sunday, state Health Secretary Rachel Levine said during a Monday update.
The state s coronavirus death toll now stands at 15,086.
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Over the weekend, there was a two-day total of 8,663 cases: 3,779 cases reported Saturday and 4,884 on Sunday. Since the start of the pandemic, Pennsylvania has had 613,804 coronavirus cases.
As of Monday morning, there were 5,905 people hospitalized with COVID-19. That s near double the peak in the spring, Levine noted. Of those, 1,145 patients are in the intensive care unit.
Over 120 nursing facilities in Pa. to administer COVID vaccine this week Sam Ruland, York Daily Record
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CVS Health and Walgreens began vaccinating residents and staff at Pennsylvania nursing homes for the coronavirus on Monday, the department of health said.
Residents and staff at 126 skilled-nursing facilities across the commonwealth are set to get their first doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine this week, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said.
The effort is part of a plan to vaccinate up to 4 million residents and staff at over 40,000 long-term care facilities nationwide.
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CVS Health began distributing vaccinations to 120 skilled nursing facilities across the state Monday, while Walgreens is distributing to an additional six, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine said.
“It’s important for me to emphasize that this is really the federal government’s program,” Levine said in a virtual press briefing Monday morning.
Levine said members of Operation Warp Speed, a partnership of federal health entities including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will select locations, deliver doses of vaccine and conduct vaccination clinics in Pennsylvania’s facilities throughout this week and in the weeks to come. Skilled nursing homes will come first, followed by personal care, assisted living, residential treatment and private intermediate care.