State turning a corner, but not out of pandemic
Pennsylvania’s acting secretary of health says the state is turning a corner with COVID-19, but she’s not ready to say we’ve gone from pandemic to endemic.Keara Klinepeter said even with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosening guidance on masks, the issue of how high you should keep your guard up is a personal one.”Everybody is trying to adjust to what this next period of time looks like,” she said.She said many people may be able to let up on masking, though some may continue to wear face coverings – especially if they are immunocompromised.”You don’t always know why someone’s wearing a mask. They might wear a mask because they work in a nursing home or I wear my mask because I’m pregnant right now,” she said.According to Klinepeter, 76% of Pennsylvania adults are fully vaccinated and 95% have one dose.Klinepeter said the state will continue to encourage people to get booster shots. Only 41% of eligible Pennsylvanians have gotten one.”I think we’re seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t think that light is a train,” said Dr. John Goldman, with UPMC.Goldman said COVID-19 may be here to stay as a regular disease. He thinks boosters will become a regular vaccination, like the flu shot.”If I were to guess, I would guess that we will have some kind of regular booster on some kind of regular basis, probably one that’s tailored towards newer variants, and probably once every one to two to three years,” he said.
HARRISBURG, Pa. —
Pennsylvania’s acting secretary of health says the state is turning a corner with COVID-19, but she’s not ready to say we’ve gone from pandemic to endemic.
Keara Klinepeter said even with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosening guidance on masks, the issue of how high you should keep your guard up is a personal one.
“Everybody is trying to adjust to what this next period of time looks like,” she said.
She said many people may be able to let up on masking, though some may continue to wear face coverings – especially if they are immunocompromised.
“You don’t always know why someone’s wearing a mask. They might wear a mask because they work in a nursing home or I wear my mask because I’m pregnant right now,” she said.
According to Klinepeter, 76% of Pennsylvania adults are fully vaccinated and 95% have one dose.
Klinepeter said the state will continue to encourage people to get booster shots. Only 41% of eligible Pennsylvanians have gotten one.
“I think we’re seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t think that light is a train,” said Dr. John Goldman, with UPMC.
Goldman said COVID-19 may be here to stay as a regular disease. He thinks boosters will become a regular vaccination, like the flu shot.
“If I were to guess, I would guess that we will have some kind of regular booster on some kind of regular basis, probably one that’s tailored towards newer variants, and probably once every one to two to three years,” he said.