The State of the Pandemic

• Current Spread

  XXXXX is at a XXX COVID-19 level, according to the CDC. The new case rate has XXXXX XX% in the last two weeks.

  The new case rate in XXXXX has XXXXX XX% in the last two weeks.

  The national case rate has XXXXX XX%

• The Toll

  XXXXXX people in XXXXXXX have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

  That's more people than the population of XXXXXXXXX.

  XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXs have died, greater than the population of XXXXXXXXX.

• Vaccinations

  XX% of XXXXXXXXXs have received their primary course of vaccination, and XX% have also received a booster.

  That's a XXXXX primary vaccination rate than the national average of XX%.

How have cases changed over time?

Since the start of the pandemic, XX in XX residents of have had a recorded case of COVID-19.

Coronavirus cases have come in waves, often rising to a peak, cresting, and then falling. As the pandemic has continued, those spikes have gotten smaller and cases have largely plateaued. With the increased availability of at-home testing, recorded cases numbers now likely only represent a fraction of the true count. Omicron has become the most dominant coronavirus variant, prompting the development of updated booster vaccines targeting it.

How strained are the hospitals in XXXXX?

Hospitalizations provide a barometer for how many people are falling seriously ill with the virus. Because the vaccine is meant to prevent severe illness and death, some experts now say hospitalizations are a better metric of the pandemic’s severity than case counts.

Not every COVID-19 patient is initially hospitalized for the virus, but the virus can worsen or complicate outcomes for patients with other illnesses. And every additional case represents another hospital bed occupied and more strain on a depleted health care workforce.

The number of staffed beds occupied by patients with COVID-19 is one measure of hospital strain that shows how limited resources — in this case, workers and beds — are consumed by the pandemic.

What does vaccine protection look like?

Data come from the CDC’s COVID Net network of 250 hospitals across 14 states and do not specifically represent Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware.

The numbers are clear: Vaccines work to prevent serious illness and death.

While vaccines have done an extraordinary job of protecting people from the most severe outcomes, COVID has proven adept at evolving. This has been a challenge to preventing infection or transmission.

The unvaccinated face significantly higher risk of severe illness and death. People who are fully vaccinated, boosted, and not immunocompromised are much less likely to have a severe case or be hospitalized with the virus. While protection against infection wanes as time passes, booster shots are recommended to bolster antibodies.

How many XXXXXs are vaccinated?

A majority of Americans and Philadelphians have completed the primary series of vaccination – two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – but the rate of booster shots has lagged significantly.

What is the death toll?

Numbers may fluctuate slightly, and even appear to go down sometimes, due to errors in data collection and reporting.

COVID-19 can be fatal, especially for the unvaccinated, the elderly, and those with underlying conditions. Worldwide, millions of people have died after contracting the virus. The death rate generally lags case and hospitalization rates.

How does XXXXX compare?

Case and death rates are seven-day averages.