COVID-19 vaccine followup

The U.S. has now administered well over 200 million COVID-19 vaccination shots, and all adults are now eligible for the vaccine in all 50 states and Washington D.C.

Pennsylvania expanded its vaccine rollout to all people 16 or older on April 13, moving it up from the previously planned date of April 19. Since then, Pennsylvanians have been eligible for the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. However, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved for those 16 and older, while Moderna and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines are approved for individuals 18 and older.

Additionally, the U.S. resumed its rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after a 10-day pause. The federal government had recommended a pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after discovering cases of a blood clotting disorder, called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), in six women who had received the shot out of about 7.2 million doses administered. A CDC panel voted to resume the shot after more investigation. A CDC press release assured, "The FDA and CDC have confidence that this vaccine is safe and effective in preventing COVID-19."

At Carnegie Mellon, the Giant Eagle partnership concluded on Tuesday, which was the last day to register for vaccine appointments. The university sent multiple emails referring the Carnegie Mellon community to the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) for vaccine appointments. Additionally, Allegheny County has a map of vaccine providers available on its website, and Rite-Aid, the pharmacy chain with a location just a few blocks away from the Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh Campuses, is also offering some COVID-19 vaccine appointments through its website. Additionally, some states, including Pennsylvania and neighboring Maryland, are allowing nonresidents to schedule vaccine appointments.

COVID-19 has continued to infect people in the U.S. and worldwide. Last week, the State Department moved 115 countries to a level 4 "do not travel" advisory, citing increased risks from COVID-19. Within the U.S., new daily COVID-19 cases have hovered at about 60,000 despite vaccinations continuing.

At Carnegie Mellon, from April 20 to April 24, there were 14 cases of COVID-19 among students present on-campus and 9 cases among students off-campus this week, up from 5 cases on-campus and 4 off-campus the week before. From April 20 to April 21, the Tartan Testing program identified 2 positive cases out of 1,183 tests, for a positivity rate of 0.17 percent. 5.00 percent of isolation and quarantine housing is in use, with 220 isolation and quarantine beds still available.

Allegheny County has now identified 95,857 total cases of and 1,858 deaths from COVID-19. There were 1,795 cases in Allegheny County during the week starting April 11.