Pennsylvania asked the federal government on Wednesday to send health care workers to bolster hospitals and nursing homes that are increasingly under stress from persistent staffing shortages and the latest COVID-19 surge.

The Wolf administration requested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency send strike teams to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and ambulance companies in the hardest-hit areas of the state.

Hospitals and nursing homes statewide have been sounding the alarm as largely unvaccinated COVID-19 patients fill hospital beds, sending some acute-care facilities over capacity. Hospitals are reporting very long emergency-room wait times, while staffing shortages in nursing homes are forcing some to stop accepting new residents.

“Our health care system is strained from COVID-19 cases and further exacerbated by persistent staffing shortages across the sector,” Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said in a written statement Wednesday.

“I am hopeful that these critically important supports will be addressed to alleviate the strain on our health care system and ultimately be able to provide Pennsylvanians the care they need during this time,” he said.

Pennsylvania also asked FEMA to send 1 million rapid at-home coronavirus tests and to increase the state’s allocation of monoclonal antibody treatments.

Pennsylvania is averaging more than 8,500 new, confirmed infections per day, up nearly 50% in two weeks. Hospitalizations are up by two-thirds since last month, to an average of more than 4,300. Deaths have also increased nearly 50% in two weeks to 89 per day.

— Associated Press

All undergraduate final exams scheduled at the University of Pennsylvania next week will not be held in person, given rising coronavirus cases, the university announced Wednesday.

In-person exams will end Friday, and professors with exams next week are being asked to develop alternative final assessments, the school said.

”We want to take extra precautions to minimize the risk of transmission while also reducing any interruptions to your ability to travel and reunite with loved ones during Winter Break,” Penn officials wrote to students.

Penn last week announced it would ban indoor social gatherings due to increased cases. Penn officials had said at that time that during the last week of testing, the university had 133 COVID-19 cases in the span of three days, compared with 120 the entire prior week.

» READ MORE: Penn bans indoor social gatherings in response to rising COVID-19 cases

— Susan Snyder

Vaccination greatly reduces the risk for severe COVID-19, but fully vaccinated people who get breakthrough cases serious enough to send them to the hospital are notably older and less healthy than unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, according to a report released Wednesday by the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.

The report analyzed data on 120,000 hospitalizations between from June through September of this year.

It found that the majority of breakthrough cases were in people older than 64, while most hospitalized, unvaccinated patients were younger than that. In addition, more of the people with a breakthrough case had another serious health problem like high blood pressure or obesity and they were less likely to have classic COVID-19 respiratory complications or require steroid or ventilator treatment. That could mean that the primary reason for their hospital stay was something other than COVID-19.

“If this is the case, it would mean that the gap in risk of COVID-19 hospitalization between vaccinated and unvaccinated people is even greater than previously known,” the researchers wrote.

Other key findings include:

— Stacey Burling

Household transmission remains how most Philadelphians have gotten COVID-19 in recent weeks, according to data provided by the Health Department.

Of residents contacted by health officials in Philadelphia, 67% said they were exposed to the virus in their household. About 11% say they contracted COVID-19 in a social setting, such as a bar, restaurant, or entertainment venue.

During a briefing Wednesday, Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole urged residents to avoid in-person family gatherings over the holidays as COVID-19 cases surge, which she attributed in part to gatherings over Thanksgiving.

“Please do not get together with other households for Christmas, or if you do, keep those gatherings small, have everyone do a rapid test before they come, and ask everyone to stay home if they feel even a little bit unwell,” Bettigole said. “Please do not hold or attend holiday parties indoors. It’s just too dangerous.”

Over the last two weeks, the city has been able to complete interviews with 40% of people who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a spokesperson. Another 10% completed the interview, but didn’t reveal any contacts to health officials.

Philadelphia is averaging 544 new COVID-19 cases a day over the past two weeks, Bettigole said. The city said it doesn’t have enough manpower to contact everyone who tests positive when case counts surpass 200 new cases a day.

Here’s a breakdown of the contact tracing results over the past two weeks, according to a Health Department spokesperson:

— Rob Tornoe

The Chester County jail has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, officials said Wednesday, and one inmate is believed to have died from the virus in the first death attributed to the pandemic at the facility.

On Monday, 18 staff members and 143 inmates tested positive for the virus, according to county spokesperson Rebecca Brain. The number of inmates with the virus dropped to 84 on Tuesday after further testing, she added.

The source of the outbreak at the facility, in Pocopson Township, is under investigation, officials said. Family visitations at the prison have been temporarily suspended, and legal professionals must wear masks when entering the jail.

» READ MORE: An outbreak of COVID-19 in the Chester County jail is believed to have caused the death of an inmate, officials say

— Vinny Vella

Americans who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and have received a booster shot are the most protected against the highly transmissible omicron variant, Anthony Fauci said at a White House briefing on Wednesday.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pointed to studies that show the omicron variant has a “profound” ability to evade all three COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, though Fauci said the data show fully vaccinated individuals are still protected from hospitalization and severe illness.

However, once a booster shot is administered, Fauci said a “substantial degree” of added protection is seen in patients against the highly transmissible variant.

“Our booster vaccine regimens work against omicron,” Fauci said. “At this point there is no need for a variant-specific vaccine.”

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said the omicron variant makes up about 3% of all COVID-19 cases in the United States, but warned that number will climb in coming weeks. In some areas, such as New Jersey, Walensky warned that the omicron variant already makes up about 13% of new cases.

“Early data suggests that omicron is more transmissible than delta, with a doubling time of about two days,” Walensky said. “It is vital for everyone to get vaccinated and boosted if they are eligible.”

— Rob Tornoe

With coronavirus cases continuing to surge, Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole on Wednesday urged Philadelphians to avoid in-person family gatherings over the holidays.

“We’re now entering what could be the most dangerous time since last winter,” Bettigole said at a virtual news conference. “Please do not get together with other households for Christmas, or if you do, keep those gatherings small.”

The city is seeing an average of 544 newly confirmed cases per day, a sharp increase over recent weeks, and 5.2% of coronavirus tests are coming back positive.

Bettigole said she is concerned that area hospitals may become overwhelmed with coronavirus cases if city residents aren’t careful over the holidays. As of Tuesday, there were 347 COVID-19 patients in city hospitals.

With the omicron variant spreading, Bettigole said it is important for residents to get booster shots after becoming fully vaccinated.

For families in which everyone is fully vaccinated and boosted, Bettigole said it is reasonable to assume family gatherings will be safer. But, she said, people should still get tested before seeing others who may not be vaccinated after their family gatherings. Bettigole also suggested people get tested before seeing anyone who is at a higher risk, including people who are elderly, pregnant, or undergoing cancer treatment.

— Sean Collins Walsh

With the pandemic’s second round of winter holidays upon us, members of the Infectious Diseases Society of America offered tips on Wednesday for reducing COVID-19 risk while maintaining mental health.

“They’re not the ones making the rules,” Barocas said. “They’re simply doing their job by enforcing them.”

— Tom Avril

Wednesday is the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 vaccine shot being administered in New Jersey.

To mark the occasion, New Jersey is promoting booster shows for residents 16 and older that have already been fully-vaccinated. Here is a list of clinics and pharmacies by county that have walk-in availability Wednesday to help make booster doses as available and accessible as possible.

The CDC recommends that anyone 16 and older receive a booster shot in order to better protect themselves as the omicron variant makes its way across the country. Here’s who is currently eligible to receive a booster shot:

— Rob Tornoe

Philadelphia will soon require proof of vaccination for any indoor spaces that serve food.

At this point, your COVID-19 vaccination card is just as necessary as your debit card. Here’s what to do and not do with it.

Should I carry my vaccination card with me?

Not necessarily. Showing proof of vaccination may become more and more common in our day-to-day lives. But, in many cases, you may be able to show a photo of your card on your phone instead of the real thing. If you’re traveling and need to show it to cross a border, however, you should have the original document with you.

But having your card on your person isn’t a bad idea, unless you are prone to losing things. If you have a safe place for your card in your wallet or in your bag, it’s probably OK to carry around.

Should I take a photo of my vaccination card?

Yes. Taking a picture of your vaccination card is a good idea, not only does it mean that you don’t have to carry your bulky card around with you, but you’ll also have a copy of it if it’s ever lost or accidentally left at home.

Make sure to take photos of the front and back. And don’t share the photo on social media. Your card contains personal information, which could leave you vulnerable to scams.

What if I lose my vaccination card?

If you were vaccinated in Philadelphia, you can contact the city’s COVID Call Center at 215-685-5488 or email them at covid@phila.gov to get your COVID-19 immunization record. The staff at the center will “walk you through the process, verify your address, and figure out the best and quickest way to get your records to you,” said Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole at a recent press conference. You can also request your immunization records online through the city’s health department.

Folks vaccinated outside the city, meanwhile, can contact the Pennsylvania Statewide Immunization Information System (PA-SIIS) for a copy of their vaccination records. PA-SIIS is an immunization registry system operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Health that collects and organize vaccine history information.

To get your records, you can email the PA-SIIS at ra-dhpasiis@pa.gov, and you will receive a form to fill out and send back in, DOH deputy press secretary Maggi Barton says. Currently, there is no defined timeline for a response, but Barton says that the DOH “will respond as soon as we can,” and that the department is working on improving the process.

» READ MORE: Should you carry your vaccination card with you? What if you lose it? Here are the dos and don’ts.

— Jillian Wilson and Nick Vadala

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are once again on the rise across Pennsylvania and the region, though the numbers remain below levels experienced during the peak of the pandemic last winter.

Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, according to data from the New York Times and the Department of Health and Human Services:

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

Delaware

United States

— Rob Tornoe

The omicron variant is offering more hints about what it may have in store as it spreads around the globe: A highly transmissible virus that may cause less severe disease, and one that can be slowed — but not stopped — by today’s vaccines.

An analysis Tuesday of data from South Africa, where the new variant is driving a surge in infections, suggests the Pfizer vaccine offers less defense against infection from omicron and reduced, but still good, protection from hospitalization.

The findings are preliminary and have not been peer-reviewed — the gold standard in scientific research — but they line up with other early data about omicron’s behavior, including that it seems to be more easily spread from person to person.

The spread can be seen in Britain, the United States and Denmark, where confirmed omicron cases are increasing at a worrisome pace, said Dr. Jacob Lemieux, who monitors variants for a research collaboration led by Harvard Medical School.

“Omicron is moving extraordinarily fast, faster even than the most pessimistic among us thought it was going to move,” Lemieux said.

» READ MORE: Latest data indicate omicron is milder, better at evading vaccines

— Associated Press