Dec 17, 2020 2 min read

More than 1,200 health-care workers have now received the COVID-19 vaccine and none of them have reported adverse effects from the drug, the state Health Department said Thursday.

“Things are moving smoothly in Pennsylvania,” state Health Secretary Rachel Levine said.

She said 16 Pennsylvania hospitals had received the Pfizer vaccine as the virus continued to surge and claim lives in the state and across the nation.

“This is an enormous undertaking,” Levine said, adding it will take time to get the vaccine to everyone.

The virus has killed 13,392 Pennsylvanians since March after 224 new statewide deaths were reported Thursday, including three in Washington County.

While there were no new virus deaths in Greene or Fayette counties, Allegheny County on Thursday announced 55 new COVID-19 fatalities.

Levine said it was still important for everyone to remain home unless absolutely necessary to help slow the spread of the virus.

There were 6,346 people with the virus in hospitals statewide, with 1,238 of them in intensive-care units. Hospitalizations because of the disease have doubled since the peak in the spring, Levine said.

The death toll from the virus has climbed to 106 in Washington County, where 135 new cases were reported Thursday, taking its cumulative total to 7,153.

Fayette County reported 269 new cases, bringing its total to 5,233. Greene County’s case-count grew by 17 to 1,224.