Pa. doctors see 25% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations

Pharmacist Sima Manifar prepares a children’s dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic in Kansas in 2021. — AP Photo/Charles Krupa/File by Sherry Stone, Philadephia Tribune Staff Writer The Centers for Disease Control is recommending that people six months of age and older get an updated COVID-19 shot, even if a person has been previously vaccinated. Dr. Katie Lockwood, of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is reminding parents to get their family the new COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it is available. Her recommendation comes as physicians have seen a recent increase of about 25% in COVID-19 hospitalizations in Pennsylvania. “While COVID-19 can be seen year round, we see the most hospitalizations in the fall and winter,” she said. “The new vaccine is expected by the end of August or early September. Getting the vaccine when it is available will prevent children from being at greater risk of COVID when symptoms begin to rise.” The Philadelphia Department of Health responded to the increase in hospital COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania by distributing free COVID-19 test kits this past week at Bethany Baptist Church, 5747 Warrington Ave. in Southwest Philadelphia and at the Mi Salud Wellness Center, 200 E...