COVID-19 Information & Resources
Senator Costa Hosts Telephone Town Hall on COVID-19 Vaccine Update
Senator Costa Hosts Telephone Town Hall on Coronavirus
Senator Costa Hosts Telephone Town Hall on Coronavirus
Department of Health Resources
LIVE daily briefings from the PA Department of Health:
pacast.com/live/doh or www.governor.pa.gov/live/ or watch on Facebook
Resources
The spread of COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving situation statewide and in Allegheny County. Below, please find links to local, regional and state sites that can help you navigate health recommendations, closures, and resources.
Economic Assistance:
- Information for PA Employees Impacted by COVID-19
- U.S. Small Business Administration: COVID-19 Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources
- Hebrew Free Loan Association’s Coronavirus Financial Bridge Loan Program
- Business Resources from the PA Dept. of Community & Economic Development
- Emergency assistance to service industry employees who are parents
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- PA Chamber of Commerce
- Honeycomb Crowdfunded Small Business Relief Loan
- Pittsburgh Foundation: Emergency Action Fund
- COVID-19 Unemployment Compensation Guidance & Resources
- The University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence (resources, technical assistance, and webinars)
Federal Information
- FAQ – Federal Stimulus Package (U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb)
- Federal Resources (U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle)
- Emergency Family & Medical Leave Expansion Act and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
- IRS Information
- CDC
- CDC Coronavirus Self Checker Tool (click on the orange self-checker box in the lower right hand corner of the page)
- U.S. Treasury Department (Paycheck Protection Program and other resources for small businesses)
- U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship – The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act
- How to make a homemade mask
Seniors
- COVID-19 Resource Guide for Older Pennsylvanians (PA Department of Aging)
- Call the Allegheny County SeniorLine at 412-350-5460 for information on services and assistance for seniors
- Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) Program can help older adult enrollees with prescription refill extensions
- Pittsburgh Senior News
State Information
- Apply for a mail in ballot for the April 28 primary
- PA 211
- COVID-19 & the Census
- Covid-19 Community Preparedness and Procedures Materials
- PA Government general guidance and information
- Guidance for Pet Owners
- Child Care Centers for Life-Sustaining Workers
- PA Department of Revenue Online Customer Service Center
- PennDOT Services (Drivers Licenses, Real ID Extension, etc…)
- Consumer Protection Alerts (PA Attorney General)
- PA Higher Education Assistance Agency COVID-19 Information
- Mental Health Support & Referral Helpline: 1-855-284-2494 (for TTY, dial 724-631-5600)
- Report price gouging to PA Attorney General’s Office: pricegouging@attorneygeneral.gov
- Unemployment Rights and Resources (PA Attorney General)
Regional Information
- Allegheny County Department of Health (24/7 hotline with United Way: 1-888-856-2774)
- Responding to COVID-19 Rumors (Allegheny County)
- Port Authority
- Pittsburgh International Airport
- Allegheny Conference of Community Development
Education Resources
- Allegheny County Intermediate Unit
- Free active learning platform for children at home
- School Guidance/Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Social Services
Latest News
Pennsylvania COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard Update for Jan.8-14: Case Increases Near 40,100; Percent Positivity at 12.7% and All 67 Counties with Substantial Transmission
Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today released a weekly status update detailing the state’s mitigation efforts based on the COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System dashboard, highlighting a seven-day case increase of 40,088, a...
Department Of Health Provides Update On COVID-19: 4,582 Patients Hospitalized And 950 Patients In The Intensive Care Unit
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., January 19, there were 5,341 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 777,186. There are 4,582 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of that...
Pennsylvania Partners With Rite Aid To Vaccinate Priority Populations In Congregate And Long-Term Care Settings
Harrisburg, PA - The departments of Human Services (DHS) and Health (DOH) today announced a partnership between the commonwealth and Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid to administer COVID-19 vaccinations to staff and residents of certain long-term care facilities and...
Department Of Health Provides Update On COVID-19: 4,614 Patients Hospitalized And 945 Patients In The Intensive Care Unit
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., January 18, that there were 4,045 additional positive cases of COVID-19, in addition to 6,023 new cases reported Sunday, January 17 for a two-day total of 10,068 additional...
Department Of Health Provides Update On COVID-19: 4,848 Patients Hospitalized And 1,010 Patients In The Intensive Care Unit
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., January 16, that there were 7,166 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 761,777. There are 4,848 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, near...
Department Of Health Highlights December 2020 Nursing Home Inspection, Sanction Information Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic
In the December 2020 report, Pennsylvania Department of Health nursing home surveyors conducted 624 inspections, including 394 complaint investigations, of 400 unique nursing homes. Of these, 249 were COVID-19-specific investigations. One sanction was...
Gov. Wolf: $2.2 Billion in COVID-19 Funds Help K-12 Schools Improve Services to Students
Governor Tom Wolf is dedicating $2.2 billion in federal stimulus funds to K-12 school districts and charter schools affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to support food programs, technological improvements and other education services. “All schools have been affected by...
Department Of Health Provides Update On COVID-19: 4,980 Patients Hospitalized And 1,013 Patients In The Intensive Care Unit
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., January 15, that there were 6,047 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 754,611. There are 4,980 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, near...
Department Of Health Announces Week-Seven Of Regional Testing Extension Across The Commonwealth
Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today announced beginning Wednesday, January 20, regional drive-thru and indoor walk-in testing clinics will be held in Adams, Carbon, McKean, Snyder, and Washington counties. The counties with testing sites...
COVID Conversations: Nursing Home Community During COVID-19
COVID Conversations: Housing and Utilities in a Health Crisis
COVID Conversations: Education in the Commonwealth
COVID Conversations: Developing a vaccine and treating COVID-19
COVID Conversations: What grocery store workers want you to know
COVID-19 Vaccine Town Hall and FAQ
Why should I get the COVID vaccine?
- It will be the combination of vaccination and continued mitigation measures such as mask wearing whenever outside your home, social distancing and avoiding large gatherings, and regular handwashing and sanitizing that will end this pandemic.
- Creating “herd immunity” to COVID-19 through the will slow the spread of this virus.
- Those who have already had COVID-19 may have some immunity to future infection, but that is not guaranteed, and it is not known how long it will last.
- Being infected with the virus itself can lead to prolonged health issues and even death.
- Vaccination is the safest way to create herd immunity and protect vulnerable populations who may not be able to get the vaccine themselves.
- It is believed based on research from other vaccines, that even those who do still get COVID-19 but have had the vaccine will have more mild symptoms then they would have had without the vaccine.
- This is an example of training the immune system to recognize and resist the virus.
- Stopping community spread is essential to ending this pandemic. Vaccines are essential to stopping community spread and ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
When will I get it?
- In Pennsylvania, distribution of the vaccine will be done in three phases due to the limited number of vaccines available throughout the country at this time.
- Phase 1A: health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs)
- Within this phase, it is most critical that healthcare personnel with the most patient contact receive the vaccine first, especially those on COVID-19 specific treatment units.
- LTFCs that qualify as Skilled Nursing Facilities will also receive priority in this phase as their residents are the most medically vulnerable.
- Phase 1B: First Responders, Critical Workers, and those in Medically High-Risk Populations.
- Phase 2: Will begin when supply of vaccine allows, will focus on the subsections of Phase 1 who have not yet received a vaccine.
- Phase 3: When full supplies allow, all the general population will be encouraged to receive the vaccine.
- Phase 1A: health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs)
- All COVID-19 vaccines will be voluntary. There are no federal or state mandates that say someone must get the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Some workplaces may require the COVID-19, just like some workplaces require their employees to get the flu shot.
How was it made so quickly?
- The timeline to develop a vaccine depends on the demand for the vaccine, the funding to research, and the ability to conduct large scale clinical trials to make sure the vaccine is safe.
- Development of a COVID-19 vaccine began in March, as soon as data was available on the virus.
- Previous vaccine research related to the H1N1 flu, and other coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS, allowed a head start on the COVID-19 vaccine because related research and development processes were already in place.
- There was also unprecedented world-wide cooperation among scientists and institutions in data and research sharing, allowing scientists to get faster answers to questions that might have taken years to discover if they had been working alone.
- Funding for vaccine research is also a barrier to development, but with COVID-19, governments and private institutions came together under umbrella’s like the U.S.’s “Operation Warp Speed” to ensure that funding for research and production would not be a barrier to getting a vaccine to people as soon as it was safe.
- All appropriate safety and ethics guidelines were followed in the clinical stages of approving the COVID-19 vaccines.
- Vaccine trials take place in three phases.
- The COVID-19 vaccine was able to go through these trial phases faster while still maintaining all safety and ethics protocols by utilizing all available data and the availability of large populations of diverse volunteers who participated in COVID-19 vaccine trials.
- All vaccines approved for distribution in the United States have been thoroughly assessed by the FDA and the CDC for distribution.
What is the COVID-19 Vaccine?
- The vaccine for COVID-19 allows our bodies to build immunity to this virus without contracting the virus.
- The COVID-19 vaccine does not contain the live COVID-19 virus, it contains either safe genetic material of the virus, harmless proteins of the virus, or a weakened version of a live virus similar to COVID-19, but not the actual virus.
- NO VACCINE CAN GIVE YOU THE VIRUS IT IS DESIGNED TO PROTECT YOU AGAINST.
- Many people get vaccines for things like the flu and think that the vaccine gave them the virus itself because they later got sick. This is not true.
- Viruses take a few days to travel through your body before you show symptoms of the virus, so you may have already been sick before you got the vaccine.
- Vaccines also can take a few days to become effective once they are in your body, so you can also still contract a virus a few days after you have gotten a vaccine because your body has not been able to build up enough immunity yet.
- Many of the COVID-19 vaccines will require TWO DOSES, a few weeks apart.
- Like a flu vaccine, there can be symptoms after you get the COVID-19 vaccine. These symptoms are mild and indicate the vaccine is working like it should to train your immune system.
- Symptoms of the COVID-19 Vaccine can include:
- injection site pain
- tiredness
- headache
- muscle pain
- chills
- joint pain
- fever
- injection site swelling
- injection site redness
- nausea
- feeling unwell
- swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy)
- Symptoms from the vaccine will not happen to everyone, but if these symptoms worsen, or you think you are having an allergic reaction to the vaccine, contact your healthcare provider or emergency medical services immediately.
What is a vaccine?
- The first widely used vaccine, and the first vaccine to eradicate a disease, was the smallpox vaccine developed by British scientist Edward Jenner in 1796.
- By 1980, smallpox was the first disease to be eradicated by vaccine, and from 1980 to 2018 it is estimated that 150 to 200 million lives have been saved from a death by smallpox.
- When most people in a community are vaccinated against a disease, the ability of the pathogen to spread is limited. This is called ‘herd’ or ‘indirect’ or ‘population’ immunity. Creating herd immunity through vaccinations prevents infection of vulnerable populations who cannot be vaccinated such as babies and the immunocompromised.
- Vaccines are a safe and effective way to prevent death and stop the spread of infectious disease and have been doing so for decades.
COVID Conversations
Resources
The spread of COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving situation statewide and in Allegheny County. Below, please find links to local, regional and state sites that can help you navigate health recommendations, closures, and resources.
Economic Assistance:
- Information for PA Employees Impacted by COVID-19
- U.S. Small Business Administration: COVID-19 Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources
- Hebrew Free Loan Association’s Coronavirus Financial Bridge Loan Program
- Business Resources from the PA Dept. of Community & Economic Development
- Emergency assistance to service industry employees who are parents
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- PA Chamber of Commerce
- Honeycomb Crowdfunded Small Business Relief Loan
- Pittsburgh Foundation: Emergency Action Fund
- COVID-19 Unemployment Compensation Guidance & Resources
- The University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence (resources, technical assistance, and webinars)
Federal Information
- FAQ – Federal Stimulus Package (U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb)
- Federal Resources (U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle)
- Emergency Family & Medical Leave Expansion Act and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
- IRS Information
- CDC
- CDC Coronavirus Self Checker Tool (click on the orange self-checker box in the lower right hand corner of the page)
- U.S. Treasury Department (Paycheck Protection Program and other resources for small businesses)
- U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship – The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act
- How to make a homemade mask
Seniors
- COVID-19 Resource Guide for Older Pennsylvanians (PA Department of Aging)
- Call the Allegheny County SeniorLine at 412-350-5460 for information on services and assistance for seniors
- Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) Program can help older adult enrollees with prescription refill extensions
- Pittsburgh Senior News
State Information
- Apply for a mail in ballot for the April 28 primary
- PA 211
- COVID-19 & the Census
- Covid-19 Community Preparedness and Procedures Materials
- PA Government general guidance and information
- Guidance for Pet Owners
- Child Care Centers for Life-Sustaining Workers
- PA Department of Revenue Online Customer Service Center
- PennDOT Services (Drivers Licenses, Real ID Extension, etc…)
- Consumer Protection Alerts (PA Attorney General)
- PA Higher Education Assistance Agency COVID-19 Information
- Mental Health Support & Referral Helpline: 1-855-284-2494 (for TTY, dial 724-631-5600)
- Report price gouging to PA Attorney General’s Office: pricegouging@attorneygeneral.gov
- Unemployment Rights and Resources (PA Attorney General)
Regional Information
- Allegheny County Department of Health (24/7 hotline with United Way: 1-888-856-2774)
- Responding to COVID-19 Rumors (Allegheny County)
- Port Authority
- Pittsburgh International Airport
- Allegheny Conference of Community Development
Education Resources
- Allegheny County Intermediate Unit
- Free active learning platform for children at home
- School Guidance/Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Social Services
Medical
Testing services for COVID-19
- You will need a prescription from your doctor, and some providers are able to offer services virtually/over the phone.
- If you’re going to any medical facility in person, call before you go.
- If you don’t have a fever, you’re not eligible for a screening… even if you’ve been traveling internationally, had a known exposure, etc.
- For testing:
- Allegheny County Health Department
- State Hotline for COVID-19
- No provider? Call: 1-877-PA-HEALTH
- Have clinical questions? Call: 1-877-PA-HEALTH
Insurance Questions
- All Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP recipients will have testing and treatment covered.’
- UPMC, Highmark, and Aetna will waive applicable deductibles, copayments, or other cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing when ordered by a member’s treating medical provider.
- Uninsured: refer to Metro Health Clinic (sliding scale); iHealth Clinic in East Liberty ($35 flat fee)
Democracy:
- Absentee and Mail-in Ballots: https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx