By Jared Putnam
Staff Writer
If the Northeast Georgia Health System continues to be an accurate predictor, rural areas like Clay County may have a ways to go before the latest COVID-19 surge ends.
Clay County Health Department reported 86 known active cases of the virus within the county as of Monday — up from 64 a week earlier — as the Delta variant continues to stress area hospitals with COVID-19 inpatients.
Julia Barnett is Chief Nursing Officer for Union General Health System, which includes Union General Hospital in Blairsville, Ga. She told the Progress earlier this year that she watches the statistics at hospitals such as Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Ga., because they often serve as a kind of bellwether for how local numbers are likely to trend.
As of Monday, the Northeast Georgia Health System was caring for 240 COVID-19 inpatients, up from 195 a week earlier. More than 89 percent (214) were unvaccinated, while 10.8 percent (26) were fully vaccinated. Of the 51 patients in the ICU, 49 were unvaccinated and two were vaccinated.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced Tuesday that he will deploy 105 members of the National Guard to hospitals across the state to help with the surge, sending some of those trained medical personnel to Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
In North Carolina, public health officials renewed calls for vaccinations on the heels of the Food and Drug Administration giving full approval for ages 16 and up to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which Pfizer is now calling Comirnaty. The Pfizer vaccine will continue to be available under emergency use authorization for teens 12-15.
"Vaccines are our most important tool in the fight against COVID-19," said NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. "All authorized vaccines have met rigorous testing and scientific standards.
"Millions of North Carolinians have been safely vaccinated, but for some people full FDA approval provides additional confidence. If you are not vaccinated, we urge you: please don’t wait to vaccinate."
NCDHHS also announced it has launched TeenVaxFacts.com — a website dedicated to providing teens with the information, tools and resources they need to educate themselves, their friends and their family members about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines.
The state reported that at least 3,342 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, including at least 797 in the ICU as of Monday. As of Sunday, 14.7 percent of COVID-19 tests were reported positive. According to health officials, five percent or lower is the rate needed to slow the spread of the virus.
It is estimated that 64 percent of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, including 59 percent who have been fully vaccinated. U.S. health officials announced Aug. 18 that adults will be eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot starting in the third week of September, citing evidence that protection against infection is waning due to variants such as Delta.
To schedule a COVID-19 vaccination, call the Clay County Health Department at 828-389-8052.
