Philadelphia reaches milestone with over 70% of adults fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Over 70% of adults in Philadelphia are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health announced the milestone on Oct. 7. 86% of adults in the city have received at least their first dose, 6ABC reported. 

This milestone comes the day after Philadelphia health officials extended the vaccine mandate deadline for health care workers in hospitals and long-term facilities, and university students, faculty, and staff, who must now be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15. All other health care workers must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 22.

Currently, 58.69% of Pennsylvanians are fully vaccinated — which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. On Sept. 27, the Pennsylvania Department of Health approved an additional booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for certain adults who have been fully vaccinated for at least six months.

In an email sent to the Penn community on Sept. 30, Chief Wellness Officer Benoit Dubé announced that 96% of the University’s student population and 95% of Penn faculty and staff are fully vaccinated. 

According to Penn’s COVID-19 Dashboard, the University had a COVID-19 positivity rate of 0.37% during the week of Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, and the rate has remained below 1% since the week of Sept. 5 to 11, when it was 1.12%. In the past two weeks, 2.6% of Philadelphia COVID-19 tests have been positive. 

Ahead of fall break — which begins Oct. 14 — Dubé sent an email to the Penn community urging students to follow the University’s public health guidance and COVID-19 screening testing requirements whether they are on campus or traveling.

“Remember: mask-up, prioritize gatherings and dining outdoors, wash your hands often, and continue to complete your daily PennOpen Pass symptom and exposure attestation,” Dubé wrote.