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COVID-19

COVID-19 cases up in vaccinated

The proportion of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations among vaccinated Pennsylvania residents rose sharply last month, reflecting the fact that a higher percentage of the population has now gotten the shot but also likely that protection has waned somewhat, state health officials said Friday. The latest Department of Health data on so-called “breakthrough” infections shows that between Sept. 5 and Oct. 4, vaccinated people represented just over a quarter — 26% — of more than 135,000 new infections and nearly 5,000 hospital admissions across the state. Death statistics for ...

COVID-19: Transmission remains high

All six local counties remain in the high transmission category for COVID-19 this week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on Friday. All six qualify for high transmission because their incidence rates — the number of new cases in the past week per 100,000 residents — are at least 100. Bedford and Huntingdon counties also qualify because their test positivity rates are at least 10 percent. Both the incidence rate and the positivity rate in Bedford County are higher than the other local counties. The highest number of COVID deaths in the past ...

Local CHIRP grant recipients named

The state Department of Community and Economic Development has released a list of Blair County entities selected to receive COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program grants. The county, which was allocated $1.35 million to help hospitality-related businesses affected by the ongoing ...

Fears linger for vaccinated adults

NEW YORK (AP) — Bronwyn Russell wears a mask anytime she leaves her Illinois home, though she wouldn't dream of going out to eat or to hear a band play, much less setting foot on a plane. In Virginia, Oliver Midgette rarely dons a mask, never lets COVID-19 rouse any worry and happily finds himself in restaurants and among crowds. She is vaccinated. He is not. In a sign of the starkly different way Americans view the coronavirus pandemic, vaccinated older adults are far more worried about the virus than the unvaccinated and far likelier to take precautions despite the protection ...

Mask opt-out bill clears Senate panel

A bill that would allow parents in Pennsylvania to exempt their children from wearing a mask at school cleared a state Senate committee on Tuesday as Republican lawmakers started making good on their pledge to counter the governor’s statewide mask mandate. The legislation would hand the ultimate decision on masking at school to parents and guardians, allowing them to overrule any face-covering mandate imposed by the state Department of Health, a local health department or a school board. The Senate Education Committee approved the bill on a party-line vote. It requires passage by ...

COVID-19: Campus life gets back on track

Regional colleges and universities report they are making their way through the semester relatively smoothly despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Amid the challenges posed by positive cases, schools are making the best of it, officials reported, continuing to operate at a level as close to normalcy as possible. Schools are requiring masks, making hand sanitizer available, disinfecting classrooms and contact tracing when someone tests positive. According to Penn State Altoona Director of Strategic Communications Jonathan O’Harrow, students are experiencing a mostly normal ...