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Here’s the state of COVID in the Philly region

COVID continues to be on the wane in the region.

A superman action figure holding a needle is seen in Skippack Pharmacy. The pediatric COVID-19 vaccine was being distributed by Mayank Amin, who owns the Skippack Pharmacy, on, Wednesday, November 3, 2021, a day after children aged 5 to 11 were approved for the shot. Amin dressed as the super hero.
A superman action figure holding a needle is seen in Skippack Pharmacy. The pediatric COVID-19 vaccine was being distributed by Mayank Amin, who owns the Skippack Pharmacy, on, Wednesday, November 3, 2021, a day after children aged 5 to 11 were approved for the shot. Amin dressed as the super hero.Read moreSteven M. Falk / Staff Photographer

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing their decline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as health experts express confidence that this winter would be the first since the pandemic began without a significant seasonal viral surge.

“We are in a very different place and we will remain in a different place,” said Ashish Jha, the White House COVID coordinator, at a conference last week hosted by the health news site STAT.

About three years after COVID first emerged, 90% of Americans have gotten at least one COVID vaccine shot and, he said, many have caught and recovered from the virus.

Local indicators are giving experts hope that the region won’t experience another COVID surge driven by holiday gatherings.

“Maybe COVID will be manageable... I should say, probably,” said Stephen Gluckman, medical director at Penn Global Medicine and professor of infectious diseases at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in a recent Inquirer Live session.

» READ MORE: Penn expert explains this winter’s ‘triple threat’ of respiratory viruses

Overall, case and hospitalization data in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are both trending downward. Case data is a less reliable indicator of COVID infections, though, because so many people now use home testing kits, which are not reported to public health entities.

Here’s a look at this week’s COVID numbers:

Pa. COVID cases and transmission

Daily average cases: 1,427

Case rate rise/fall over 14 days: -24%

Daily average hospitalizations: 1,563

Hospitalizations rate rise/fall over 14 days: -10%

Total deaths: 48,271

» READ MORE: Visit our COVID tracker to see more data

Philly COVID cases and transmission

Daily average cases: 162

Case rate rise/fall over 14 days: -13%

Daily average hospitalizations: 351

Hospitalizations rate rise/fall over 14 days: +5%

Total deaths: N/A

N.J. COVID cases and transmission

Daily average cases: 1,660

Case rate rise/fall over 14 days: -5%

Daily average hospitalizations: 1,037

Hospitalizations rate rise/fall over 14 days: -10%

Total deaths: 35,093

Data Sources: New York Times COVID data tracker; New Jersey and Pennsylvania Departments of Health. Numbers are updated as of Wednesday, November 23.