PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In the first four days that a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shot was available in Philadelphia, nearly 11,000 residents got one.
Almost 85% of adults the city have had at least one dose of vaccine, and 70% are fully vaccinated. More than 47,000 teenagers have had at least one shot.
Still, new cases remain stubbornly high, now averaging about 274 a day.
Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole theorizes the return of children to in-person learning is contributing to the higher case totals.
That is why she shared excitement that Pfizer has submitted data to the FDA showing its vaccine’s effectiveness in 5 to 11-year-olds.
"I’m hopeful this announcement means we’ll be able to vaccinate our children sooner rather than later," she said, "but as we saw with the booster doses, there are many steps that still need to happen before we can start."
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In its submission to the FDA, Pfizer said the shots for 5 to 11-year-olds may not be available until November.
Dr. Bettigole predicted the city's mask mandate will stay in place for some time.
"Those masks are the difference between a fall surge and not having a fall surge," she said.
Dr. Bettigole added when the mask mandate went into effect during the summer surge, the number of new cases stopped climbing within 10 days, and even went down a little.
She also reported good results from the health care worker vaccine mandate.
The Penn Health System, for instance, saw nearly 100% compliance, with 2% of employees getting an exemption and less than 1% leaving their jobs.
The city’s mandate for its own workers is spottier. Just 32% of employees have shown proof of vaccine, though a spokeswoman says she believes the actual number of vaccinated workers is higher.
Dr. Bettigole also said the city is trying to make sure the most vulnerable citizens get the booster, even texting people in underserved neighborhoods who got a second Pfizer shot six months ago to make sure they know the third shot is available.
"We’re not going to send text messages to all of those people at the same time, just to avoid creating a run for vaccine, but things have been going very smooth so far," said Dr. Bettigole.