PITTSBURGH — We took a closer look at the data, and we are seeing a trend of increasing breakthrough cases among vaccinated people.

In Allegheny County, for October and November, breakthrough cases made up about 38-percent of all COVID cases. We learned that was 15-percent more than the previous month, September, which had about 23-percent breakthrough cases.

So, why so many now? Should we be alarmed by the increase?

We asked University of Pittsburgh infectious disease expert Dr. Lee Harrison.

“No, it’s not alarming at all. Actually, the vaccines are working really, really well. They work best against severe infection. So really, really good at keeping you out of the hospital and from dying, but less effective in terms of mild disease,” Dr. Harrison said.

Breakthrough Hospitalizations & Deaths

While Dr. Harrison says vaccines are still highly effective against severe illness for most people, we do see some hospitalizations and deaths among break-through cases.

We requested recent numbers from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which hadn’t been published yet.

We learned, for September and October, about 25-percent of hospitalizations statewide were breakthrough cases; and for August, the most recent month available, 25-percent of COVID deaths in Pennsylvania were breakthrough cases.

Dr. Harrison says those deaths are primarily among people who have serious underlying conditions.

“There are some deaths. A relatively small proportion of deaths are among the immunized, and those tend to be among the really debilitated, the elderly, and some people who have underlying conditions that predispose to not responding well to the vaccine,” he explained.

https://www.wpxi.com/news/investigates/fact-vs-fiction-whats-driving-spike-breakthrough-covid-cases/TICPYPEU3NBBVFJUPT6LW33IQY/

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A local man said his COVID-19 booster shot has caused tinnitus — or ringing of the ears.

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, Brent Kimmel got his Pfizer booster shot and noticed a ringing in his ears a few hours later.

“It went away after like an hour. I went to bed. I kind of woke up around 1. My ear started ringing really bad, and it hasn’t stopped since then,” Kimmel said.

He went to his doctor and then an ear, nose, and throat specialist. The doctor gave him steroids, but the ringing is there.

“The one night it rang so bad, I had to put headphones on to go to sleep,” Kimmel said.

This ringing sensation is called tinnitus. Allegheny Health Network Infectious Disease Physician Dr. Nathan Shively said it is a rare adverse effect, if the vaccine is even the cause. At this point, there are no widespread reports of the phenomenon.

“We know that people tend to have injection site pain. Most people have that for a day or two after getting the vaccine,” Dr. Shively said.

He said if you feel this ringing in your ears, you should see a doctor. There could be some other causes and issues.

According to Dr. Shively, this should not stop you from getting your shot.

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/12/03/man-experiencing-tinnitus-after-covid-19-booster-shot/

Eli Lilly & Co.’s monoclonal antibody drug has been cleared for emergency use in children under the age of 12, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.

The authorization is the first for an antibody drug to treat young children, including newborns, who have tested positive for Covid-19 or been exposed to the virus and who are at high risk of developing severe cases including hospitalization or death.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lillys-covid-19-antibody-treatment-authorized-for-use-in-children-11638568015