University Hospital had 34 people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Tuesday, down from 91 a month ago and down more than 100 from the peak number in January.
According to the national tracking database, Richmond County has had an average of 58 cases over the past week, a 3%decrease for the period.
In the current 14 days, 9.7% of COVID-19 tests have come back positive in Columbia County, and 10.4% have been positive in Richmond County, according to a report from the Georgia Department of Public Health.
The news is also good across the entire state as more than 2 million vaccinations have been given, though Dr. Anthony Fauci has said it will take somewhere between 70% and 90% of all Americans developing immunity to COVID-19 to stop the virus.
[adrotate banner=”23″]
The CDC is predicting that 70 percent of Americans will be vaccinated by the end of August, 90 percent by the end of October at present vaccination rates. If the number of available doses increases, those estimations could change. To date, 51.75 million Americans have been vaccinated once. Of that number 26.16 million Americans have received both shots, according to data on the CDC website.
The numbers are promising, according to Dr. David Blake, an epidemiologist at Augusta University,. He thinks people may be able to safely relax soon.
“The fact that the vaccine first went to the nursing homes, which was 40 percent of our severe case load, is the reason we are seeing the numbers begin to drop dramatically,” he says.
Blake says that people who have been vaccinated should not be afraid to have gatherings at home as long as everyone present also has received the vaccine. People should still remain vigilant when in public by wearing a mask, washing hands frequently and remaining socially distant when possible, he cautioned.
[adrotate banner=”19″]
In related news, University Hospital has 1,000 vaccination slots available for their March 4 clinic in Aiken at Millbrook Baptist Church, 223 South Aiken Blvd., SE. Due to an error in registration, the clinic stopped accepting applications early. The clinic is only for South Carolina residents aged 65 and up. For more information, visit: https://university-hospital-sc-covid-clinic.eventbrite.com/
Gold Cross EMS and St Luke United Methodist Church, with the help of Augusta Commissioner Jordan Johnson and Commissioner Francine Scott, will host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for Harrisburg residents on March 4 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. The clinic will be at the Harrisburg Family Healthcare Center at 423 Crawford Ave., and will be open to residents of the Harrisburg community over 65 and/or caregivers. Vaccines are limited and will be given until supply runs out.
Scott Hudson is the Editorial Page Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
[adrotate banner=”44″]
