Wednesday’s COVID-19 statistics for Warren County looked good — no new deaths, half as many people hospitalized, and only five new cases.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, there had been a total of 2,040 cases and 92 deaths in the county as of Wednesday.

All of the new cases fell in the ‘probable’ category. There were no new confirmed cases.

The number of COVID-positive patients at Warren General Hospital was down three from Tuesday’s report. There were three COVID patients in the hospital – none on ventilators and none in intensive care.

As of Tuesday, about one in 20 county residents had received one dose of the vaccine and one in 55 had received both doses.

According to the department’s COVID vaccine dashboard, there were 704 people in the county who had received both doses. Another 1,924 people were partially covered, or had received one dose.

There was a Phase 1A clinic held by Gaughn’s Drug Store on Tuesday that vaccinated about 100 people. That total was not reflected in the department’s report for Wednesday.

While the vaccine is not expected to be fully effective until some time has passed after a patient receives the second dose, there is some evidence that even one dose provides some protection.

During a Wednesday Department of Health press briefing, Dr. Riyaz Bashir, a professor of medicine at Temple University, said he believes the first dose of the vaccine prevented him from contracting COVID. He said his wife, who is also a doctor, contracted the virus at work and it spread to their whole family, except for him.

“I believe it was the vaccine that protected me,” Bashir said. “These vaccines are not only safe, they are also very effective. They could potentially save your life and the lives of others.”

Still, he urged that people continue to take the mitigating steps.

“Please continue to wear your masks, practice frequent hand-washing, and social distancing,” he said. “I’ve gotten both of my doses of the vaccine. I still wear my mask.”