PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Department of Public Health today reported an additional 19,559 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Philadelphia since last reported on Monday, December 27. This brings the total number of fully vaccinated Philadelphians to at least 960,448, and the number of Philadelphians with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to at least 1,213,684. Currently, 77.3 percent of Philadelphia adults are fully vaccinated, and 97.7 percent of Philadelphia adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

All residents ages five and older are eligible to be vaccinated in Philadelphia. 24.6 percent of 5-to-11-year-olds in Philadelphia have received at least one vaccine dose. Among eligible Philadelphians ages 12 and older, 71.6 percent are fully vaccinated, and 90.5 percent have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The Department of Health reports 746 patients with COVID-19 are currently being treated in Philadelphia hospitals, with a total of 68 on ventilators.

In the last two weeks, 24.6 percent of COVID-19 tests in Philadelphia have come back positive. Thus far during the pandemic, 204,487 Philadelphians have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and 4,230 have succumbed to the virus. Philadelphia is averaging 1,972 new cases of COVID-19 per day over the last two weeks.

The Health Department Reminds Philadelphians to Avoid Indoor New Year’s Gatherings: During the most recent virtual COVID-19 briefing, Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole recommended that people avoid indoor holiday gatherings due to the sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases. Since that time, the number of new cases identified per day has only increased. That means it’s even more important to avoid gathering with other households on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. For people who will still be getting together, there are a number of things that can be done to reduce everyone’s risk. 

  • First and most importantly, if someone feels sick, they should stay home and away from others. This is true even if a person cannot be tested or tests negative for COVID-19, as there are a number of viruses circulating that shouldn’t be shared with others. 
  • If possible, everyone should get tested for COVID-19 as close to the start of the gathering as possible. This will help identify anyone who has become infectious but might not be showing symptoms of COVID-19. 
  • Try to increase the ventilation wherever you are gathering. Open windows and doors or, ideally, hold the gathering outdoors. Ventilation has been proven to significantly reduce one’s risk of catching or spreading COVID-19. 
  • Finally, pay attention to the number of people at your gathering, and who they are. If there are lots of people there or you’re worried about the vaccine status of those people, it’s okay to leave early.

COVID-19 Dashboards Will Not Be Updated on Friday, December 31: Due to the holiday, the COVID-19 testing and vaccine dashboards found on phila.gov/covid will not be updated on New Year’s Eve. They will continue to be updated at the usual times on Monday through Thursday, and will return to normal five-day-per-week updates after the New Year.

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