La secretaria de Salud, Debra Bogen, destacó la importancia del acceso a servicios gratuitos de detección, tratamiento y derivación. Durante una visita al nuevo Centro de Salud Estatal del Condado de Dauphin, ubicado en Harrisburg, subrayó el papel clave de estos servicios en la prevención y control de las infecciones.

“El acceso generalizado a la prevención, las pruebas y el tratamiento es vital para reducir las tasas de infecciones de transmisión sexual en Pennsylvania. Las Infecciones de Transmisión Sexual pueden tener efectos duraderos en la salud de las personas, incluido un mayor riesgo de infertilidad”.

Bogen detalló que existen centros en todo el estado que ofrecen servicios confidenciales, incluyendo pruebas, tratamiento y asesoramiento sin costo.

De acuerdo con los datos más recientes, los casos de ITS de notificación obligatoria, como gonorrea, clamidia y sífilis, han registrado una disminución sostenida en los últimos años. Este descenso refleja tanto el fortalecimiento de los programas de salud pública como una mayor concienciación de la población sobre la importancia de la detección temprana y el tratamiento oportuno.

Uno de los avances más significativos se observa en la reducción de la sífilis congénita infantil, que disminuyó un 28% entre 2024 y 2025. Este logro se atribuye en gran medida al trabajo de los profesionales de intervención de enfermedades, quienes han logrado que el 90% de los pacientes diagnosticados con sífilis reciban tratamiento en un plazo de 14 días, limitando así la propagación de la enfermedad y reduciendo riesgos en recién nacidos.

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Las autoridades sanitarias recalcaron la importancia de reducir el estigma asociado a las ITS, fomentar la educación sexual y facilitar el acceso a servicios de salud accesibles y confidenciales.

También recordaron que muchas ITS pueden no presentar síntomas en sus etapas iniciales, lo que hace aún más relevante la realización de pruebas regulares. El diagnóstico precoz permite iniciar tratamientos efectivos y prevenir complicaciones a largo plazo, así como evitar la transmisión a otras personas.

Más de 50 Centros Estatales de Salud en el estado

El Pennsylvania Department of Health administra 59 Centros Estatales de Salud distribuidos en distintos condados de la Mancomunidad. Estas instalaciones desempeñan un papel esencial en la protección de la salud pública, ofreciendo servicios que incluyen pruebas gratuitas, tratamiento y orientación para personas afectadas o en riesgo de contraer ITS.

Cualquier persona sexualmente activa puede beneficiarse de las pruebas periódicas, especialmente aquellas con factores de riesgo. El acceso a estos servicios es confidencial y está diseñado para garantizar la atención oportuna y el bienestar de la población.

Para más información sobre los servicios disponibles, el Pennsylvania Department of Health invita a los residentes a visitar su sitio web o acudir al centro de salud más cercano.

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Debra Bogen, secretaria interina del Pennsylvania Department of Health, cree que no existe ninguna amenaza para el público en general asociada con este caso de sarampión

“Alentamos a las personas que posiblemente estuvieron expuestas a tomar medidas si no están protegidas contra el sarampión. Muchos países, incluyendo los destinos de viaje, están experimentando brotes, por lo que ha aumentado la posibilidad de que se registren casos relacionados con viajes y brotes posteriores en Estados Unidos”.

Bogen recomendó encarecidamente a los padres que sigan el calendario de vacunación de los CDC y vacunen a sus hijos tan pronto como puedan.

Las personas que estuvieron en los siguientes lugares podrían haber estado expuestas al virus del sarampión:

• Farmacia CVS

10901C Bustleton Ave, Philadelphia, PA  19116

Miércoles 15 de mayo de 2024, de 11:00 am a 4:00 pm.

• Servicio de Urgencias del Hospital Santísimo Redentor

1648 Huntingdon Pike, Strauss Emergency Pavilion, Meadowbrook, PA 19046

Jueves 16 de mayo al viernes 17 de mayo de 11:30 am a 12:30 pm

• Unidad Médico-Quirúrgica del Hospital Santísimo Redentor
  • 1648 Huntingdon Pike, Strauss Emergency Pavilion, Meadowbrook, PA 19046
  • Jueves 16 de mayo al viernes 17 de mayo de 10:30 am a 12:30pm.

El sarampión es un virus altamente contagioso. Las personas que lo presentan pueden transmitirlo a otras que no están protegidas a través del contacto directo con gotas respiratorias o a través de gotas en el aire al toser y estornudar.

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Los primeros síntomas del sarampión son fiebre, secreción nasal, tos y ojos rojos e hinchados, seguidos de sarpullido. En algunas personas, puede ser una infección muy grave que provoca neumonía, infección cerebral y la muerte.

Los departamentos de salud recomendaron:

1. Cualquier persona que estuvo en los lugares mencionados anteriormente debe seguir las instrucciones a continuación para determinar si está protegido contra el sarampión y los síntomas a los que debe prestar atención si no está protegido.
2. Determinar si se está protegido contra el sarampión. Generalmente, se le considera protegido (inmune) si:
   • Nacido antes de 1957, o
   • Ya ha tenido sarampión
   • Ha recibido dos dosis de una vacuna que contiene sarampión (generalmente administrada como vacuna contra sarampión, paperas y rubéola).
     • Revise sus registros de vacunación o pregúntele a su proveedor de atención médica si ya recibió dos dosis de esta vacuna.
     • La vacuna contra el sarampión se recomienda de forma rutinaria para pacientes de 12 a 15 meses y se administra una segunda dosis a los 4 a 6 años de edad. Los bebés menores de 12 meses no son elegibles para recibir la vacuna y no están protegidos.

Las personas que ya están protegidas contra el sarampión, no tiene que hacer nada, pero las que no lo están deben:  

1. Recibir una dosis de la vacuna contra sarampión, paperas y rubéola. Hable con su proveedor de atención médica para saber cómo puede recibirla.
2. Las personas menores de 12 meses, las que están embarazadas y no son inmunes, o están inmunodeprimidas, tienen un sistema inmunológico debilitado, deben consultar con su proveedor de atención médica lo antes posible. El manejo de la exposición al sarampión puede ser diferente en estas condiciones.
3. El sarampión es contagioso desde 4 días antes hasta 4 días después de que comience la erupción. Si no es inmune y puede haber estado expuesto, podría contagiar sarampión a alguien con alto riesgo antes de desarrollar sarampión. Para evitar que esto suceda, use una mascarilla en espacios públicos interiores y cerca de cualquier persona que no esté vacunada hasta 3 semanas después de la exposición.
4. Si no es inmune y puede haber estado expuesto, y desarrolla algún síntoma hasta el 7 de junio de 2024 que parezca sarampión, comuníquese con su médico de inmediato. También debe notificar a su departamento de salud local:

• Philadelphia Department of Public Health: 215-685-6740
• Montgomery County Office of Public Health: 610.278.5117
• Pennsylvania Department of Health: 877-724-3258

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Potassium iodide tablets, or KI, help protect the thyroid gland against harmful radioactive iodine and can be taken by anyone, if they are not allergic to it. It is safe for pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding, people on thyroid medication, children and infants. Individuals who are unsure if they should take potassium iodide should ask a health care provider first.

“Emergency preparedness is an important aspect of public health and having potassium iodide tablets for residents who live or work within 10 miles of a nuclear facility is an essential preparedness action in the case of a radiological emergency,” Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said.

According to MyChesco, Beam warned that KI should be taken only under state instructions and added that it is not an alternative to evacuation. “It’s important to remember potassium iodide should only be taken when instructed to do so by state health officials or the governor, and it is not a substitute for evacuation in the case of a radiological emergency at one of Pennsylvania’s nuclear facilities.”

The state’s five nuclear facilities are closely regulated, secure and well-maintained. The facilities are: Beaver Valley Power Station; Limerick Generating Station; Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station; Susquehanna Steam Electric Station; and the recently closed Three Mile Island Generating Station.

You can read: FEMA approved Major Disaster Declaration for N.J. counties

The tablets are available to all Pennsylvanians who live or work within 10 miles of the state’s four active nuclear power plants by visiting a distribution center or calling the Department of Health at 1-877-PA-HEALTH.

Residents can also visit a county and municipal health department or state health center. KI tablets are not required for people living and working within 10 miles of the Three Mile Island Generating Station, which closed in September 2019.

Locations to get KI

The potassium iodide tablets will be provided on Thursday, Sept. 9 and 16 at the following locations:

• Beaver Valley Power Station: Sept. 16 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Beaver Valley Mall. Center at the Mall, 570 Beaver Valley Mall Blvd. Monaca, PA, 15061
• Limerick Generating Station: Sept. 9 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.Keystone Steam Fire Company, 240 North Walnut St. Boyertown, PA, 19512
• Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station: Sept. 9. Peach Bottom Recreation Center, 5 Pendyrus St. Delta, PA, 17314.1 p.m. to 6 p.m. East Drumore Township Municipal Building, 925 Robert Fulton Hwy., Quarryville, PA, 17566.2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Susquehanna Steam Electric Station: Sept. 9 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Luzerne County Community College: Public Safety Center, 1333 South Prospect St. Nanticoke, PA, 18634. Butler Township Community Center (Gym), 411 West Butler Drive, Drums, PA 18222. Salvation Army Community Corps Building, 320 W. 2nd St. Berwick, PA. 18603.

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According to phillyvoice.com, the updated numbers had been released Friday without an explanation and reflected a simultaneous increase of about 60,000 people who were being counted as fully vaccinated.

The duplicate shots stemmed from an effort to link first and second doses to individual residents, a health department spokesperson told the Associated Press. In the process, the health department was removing duplicate data from providers whose software did not include unique patient identifiers.

The revision of vaccination numbers also accounted for data that came from some patients who received their first and second vaccine doses from different providers.

Officials said the new figures better reflect the number of Pennsylvanians who have only received the first dose of a two-dose vaccine.

As of Friday, Pennsylvania had administered just under 11.3 million doses, down from the 11.8 million before the revisions were completed. The state counted 5.54 million people who were fully vaccinated, with a seven-day moving average of more than 12,400 people per day receiving vaccinations.

Fifth out of 50 states

According to these updated vaccination numbers, over 61% of Pennsylvania residents 18 and older are fully vaccinated. Pennsylvania ranked fifth out of 50 states in total doses administered as of last Thursday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The health department’s revision did not include data from Philadelphia, which is its own vaccine jurisdiction.

You can read: State health officials promote COVID vaccines as Delta variant spreads

As of Monday, Philadelphia reported 736,014 residents are fully vaccinated, including about 59.3% of all adults. At least 907,814 residents have received at least one COVID-19 shot, or about 73.1% of adults in the city.

Stable vaccination numbers

COVID-19 transmission rates have stabilized in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania in recent weeks, despite increases in cases associated with the highly infectious Delta variant in several states.

The department continues to urge Pennsylvanians to follow CDC guidance for wearing a mask where required by law, rule and regulations, including healthcare, local business and workplace guidance. For the protection of themselves and others, individuals who have not yet been vaccinated or are partially vaccinated, are still encouraged to wear a mask when in public.

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The data was released weeks after advocates, including the state’s chief fiscal watchdog, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, urged greater transparency.

The data includes the number of resident cases, number of employee cases and number of deaths that have occurred at each facility.

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said releasing data on individual long-term care facilities was only the latest of many steps taken to address the crisis in those places, which account for nearly 70% of virus deaths in the state.

“We have been reacting from the very beginning” of the crisis with measures focused on the approximately 2,000 facilities, Dr. Levine said in a press reléase.

“Long-term care facility residents are among the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, and we want their families to have the latest information on what is going on in the facilities in which their loved ones reside.”

According to the Health Secretary, the serious situation imposed by virus demands an ongoing effort.

“COVID-19 is a particularly challenging situation for these settings as they care for residents with serious medical conditions. We will continue to work to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents through education, resources and testing.

Levine said facilities with less than five cases or deaths will have their information redacted to “protect patient privacy.”

You can read: Pennsylvania officials warn: “Do not go to the beach for Memorial Day weekend”

The state health department numbers show there are 13,813 resident cases of COVID-19 in nursing and personal care homes across Pennsylvania. Among employees, there are 2,191 diagnosed cases. That brings the entire total to 16,003.

One way the Wolf administration says it will protect nursing home residents is by testing patients and staff in long-term care facilities.

According to the numbers released Tuesday, by far the worst outbreak is in Brighton Rehab and Wellness Center in Beaver County where the state reports 358 coronavirus cases in residents. There are 76 people who have died there. The facility with the second-highest case count is Northampton County Home Gracedale with 205 cases.

Here you can view and search the entire list

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A Montgomery County resident tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 after known international exposure. The resident is at the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in critical condition.

Hospital staff is taking proper measures in order to protect other patients

You can read: Two positive coronavirus cases in New Jersey

This is the latest case after two presumptive positive cases of the coronavirus in Pennsylvania confirmed Sunday afternoon.

Both people confirmed on Sunday are adults from Montgomery County. They showed mild symptoms and are in isolation at home. They tested presumptive positive after known international exposure.

The two other Montgomery County individuals were in a part of the United States where the virus is present, officials said. They were announced Friday and Saturday.

At the moment there are has seven presumptive positive cases of coronavirus in Pennsylvania five in Montgomery County, one in Delaware County and one in Wayne County.

You can read: Temple University is asking students to return from abroad and self-quarantine

Germantown Academy in Montgomery County will close its campus through March 29, the end of spring break. The school informed parents of the more than 1,000 students of the decision Sunday because one of the people from the county who tested positive is a family member of a Germantown Academy student.

The state Department of Health is not informing how many samples it is testing or how many people it is monitoring under quarantine.

Officials have announced Officials they are expecting more Pennsylvania cases in the next weeks.

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According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the state’s medical marijuana program is a victim of its own success.

The state currently accounts for 25 grower-processors but their production is not able to keep up with demand for high quality marijuana flowers.

Governor Wolf legalized medical marijuana in Pennsylvania in 2016 and on February 15, 2018 it became available for patients at dispensaries across the commonwealth. Since then the industry has grown, with dozens of dispensaries opening including one in Erie.

However, many patients looking to fill their prescriptions are having trouble finding what they need. The shortage of popular strains has forced consumers to wait up to six weeks for a product that works for them.

Market President at Green Thuma Industries, Tim Hawkings says that the high demand for the marijuana flower exceeded expectations.

“If we had anticipated this demand, the state probably would’ve asked more growers to be up and running from the beginning,” says Hawkins.

You can read: Recreational marijuana legalization will depend on New Jersey voters

Laura Gunchon , who works as Vice president of Project Management for Calypso Enterprises in Erie, thinks that medical marijuana needs to be considered just like any other medicine.

“When you go to the pharmacy you expect your medicine is going to be there,” she explains. “It’s the same thing when you to a dispensary you find a product that works for you.”

Preventing a supply shortage is exactly what calypso is trying to do.
The company only serves western Pennsylvania making sure there’s enough product to go around.

“We want them to be able to go back when they need to and find that same Calypso product on the shelf again,” says Gunchon. “If they can’t get it it reflects poorly on our business”.

In the meantime, it is the hope of many consumers of this new product on the Pennsylvania legal market that the details of production will be worked out so that the medicinal benefits of marijuana can be accessed.

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