Surry County is averaging about one new case of COVID-19 per day over the past two weeks, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
While that is great news for a community that at one point was seeing more than 100 new cases a day, local health officials say the county may not yet be out of the woods.
“We are concerned about variants and vaccine resistant variants,” said Maggie Simmons, assistant health director for the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center. “Vaccination is extremely important right now, as it is our best defense in slowing the transmission of COVID-19.”
Surry County might be a little light on vaccination defense. According to Simmons, her department has administered 31,464 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, but just 38% of the county’s total population of roughly 72,000 people have been fully vaccinated, with another 3% receiving at least one dose of a two-part vaccine.
Statewide, as of June 30, 41.7% of residents were fully vaccinated. States with the highest rates include Massachusetts, with 61.6% of its population fully vaccinated; Vermont at 65.6%, Maine at 61%, and Connecticut at 60.7%. In Virginia, 51.8% of residents have been vaccinated.
At the low end of the spectrum is Mississippi with 29.8%, Alabama at 32.5%, Wyoming at 34.4%, Louisiana at 34.6%, Tennessee at 35.4%, and Georgia at 36.6%.
CDC officials have voiced growing concern with the Delta variant of the virus, which was first identified in India and is considered much more contagious and dangerous than earlier versions of the virus. Some health experts have warned the states at the lower end of the vaccination numbers could see outbreaks of the Delta variant.
“Our unvaccinated folks are perfect hosts for the virus, and there is a lot of potential for virus mutation within this population,” Simmons said of the local population. “With that comes the potential for increasing the number of variants we see and could lead to a resurgence in numbers.”
Thus far, she said there have been no confirmed cases of the Delta variant in Surry County, “…but that is not to say it isn’t already here.”
Officials in some European nations have expressed concern additional lockdowns may be imposed as Delta variant outbreaks occur, and some states in the U.S. have even imposed new travel restrictions to certain states.
“We would like to strongly encourage eligible residents to get vaccinated,” Simmons said. “Our office is offering vaccines every day by appointment or on a walk-in basis. We have Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson vaccines available. We also want to encourage school age children who are eligible for the vaccine to start getting their vaccines now so that they will be considered fully vaccinated when they return to school in the fall.”
She said it’s also important for people to continue observing safety precautions. Among those are remaining home if a person is sick, maintaining social distancing of at least 6 feet from others not living in your household, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces, frequent hand washing, and to to still wear a mask which covers your mouth and nose.
While the new cases have dropped dramatically, Surry County has been one of the harder hit counties in North Carolina on a per capita basis. Overall, there have been 8,405 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county and 170 deaths.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
Be First to Comment