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Allegheny County leaders hope increasing vaccination rate, boosters will help COVID-19 cases drop

PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County officials said they hope the increasing vaccination rate and people getting the COVID-19 booster shot will help cases to start trending downward.

On Tuesday, the health department reported 433 new cases and 13 new deaths in the county. Eight of those deaths were associated with long-term care facilities.

Health department director Dr. Debra Bogen urged people to use common sense when celebrating the upcoming Halloween holiday.

“We’ve sort of reached a plateau but we’ve not seen a drop in our cases like other parts of the country,” Bogen said. “We continue to trace our cases back to social events where very few mitigation efforts are practiced.”

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday that 70% of Pennsylvanians aged 18 and older are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.