Erie County reports 8 COVID-19 deaths but some occurred in January

Erie County health officials reported eight additional COVID-19 deaths this week, though some of those deaths actually occurred in January.

Reporting lags have occurred throughout the pandemic and are due to one of several reasons, said Erin Mrenak, director of the Erie County Department of Health. One reason is that the person died in a different county or state, and it took time to add that death to Erie County's total.

"Sometimes it can take awhile for the data to catch up," Mrenak said. "Also, sometimes there are delays getting certain deaths into the state system."

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Of the eight deaths reported this week, two occurred in January, three in June, two in July and one in the second week of August.

The new total increases the county's overall number of COVID-19 deaths to 833, including three in July. As a result, July 2022 is no longer the month with the least number of COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic arrived in Erie County.

"A large majority of the people we see in the hospital with COVID came in for other reasons and tested positive after their arrival," said Dr. Christopher Clark, president of Saint Vincent Hospital. "Occasionally we have a patient directly impacted by COVID, and they tend to be older with other chronic health issues."

The county's number of residents hospitalized with COVID-19 has remained markedly steady in the 20s or 30s since early spring, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Forty residents have died from COVID-19 since March 1, compared to 296 deaths the previous six months.

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County health officials have attributed the declining number of deaths to an increased number of people with antibodies from either vaccines, previous infections, or both. They also say that omicron isn't as likely as previous COVID-19 variants to infect a person's lungs and cause life-threatening illness.

"COVID-19 is mild right now. I hope it stays that way," Mrenak said.

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Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County reports 8 COVID-19 deaths but several occurred in January