DUBOIS – March 24 marked the one-year anniversary of the first official case of COVID-19 in Clearfield County, with March 11 the first teleconference held by Penn Highlands Healthcare regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday the 16th teleconference was held and Chief Operations Officer Mark Norman noted some of the highlights of the timeline at the beginning of the teleconference.
Last April, PHH started restricting access to facilities and in May, after seeing a 40 percent drop from pre-pandemic in person appointments, PHH also experienced the first reported COVID fatality.
DuBois introduced a specialized unit for COVID and all hospitals in the network improved their isolation protocols.
The summer was quiet, but PHH did see a rise in those getting the flu vaccine and now they see a decrease of flu infections by 90 percent and by winter the cases began to rise again.
The first Pfizer vaccine was shipped Dec. 13 and as of now 56,500 first- and second-doses have been given across the network.
Pandemic Taskforce leader Dr. Shawn Sheehan said they are vaccinating thousands weekly, with the high around 7,500 one week.
However, he said people still need to follow guidelines by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Protection and Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Sheehan said that fewer people are interested in getting vaccinated and said that if you fall within the Phase 1A category, you should schedule a vaccine.
Information can be found and appointments scheduled through the PHH COVID information line, 814-503-4735 or by visiting PHHealthcare.org/vaccine.
When asked about serious side effects or even fatalities, Sheehan said the CDC keeps a record of such things and “it really isn’t an issue.” He added that there is always a risk of allergic reaction but, “What we see is what you would normally expect.”
But how long the vaccine lasts is still an unknown. Studies are showing that those who had a severe case of COVID remain immune longer, and that may factor into how long the vaccine lasts.
In regards to Easter celebrations, Sheehan said people should follow CDC guidelines, which are listed on the Web site.