PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Nearly 59% of Philadelphia adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to figures reported by the city's Health Department.
Officials say the high vaccination rate is keeping new cases low, despite the local presence of the Delta variant.
After a steep and fast decline, new COVID-19 cases have settled at about 24 a day. Health Department spokesman Jim Garrow said they appear to be less serious, based on lower hospitalizations, ventilator use and deaths.
"It’s safe to be out and around right now, because so many people have been vaccinated, and so many people are being careful with who they are around," said Garrow.
"The disease just isn’t really spreading that much."
He said the department continues to work on pushing up vaccination numbers. In the last two weeks, 30,000 additional adults have become fully vaccinated, and 22,000 have received a first dose.
However, it has taken extraordinary efforts, including door-to-door outreach and a sweepstakes with prizes up to $50,000 if a resident’s name is drawn and they’ve received the vaccine.
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Garrow said it’s too early to tell if that’s helping, but some preliminary research is promising.
"We definitely saw more vaccinations per capita than surrounding counties," he explained.
The second of three drawings was held Tuesday. The University of Pennsylvania, which created the sweepstakes, is in the process of verifying the winner’s vaccine status.