Georgia at over 20,000 confirmed deaths
As Georgia passes what the state Department of Public Health calls a “grim milestone” — 20,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began last year — both local and state public health personnel remind those not yet vaccinated that vaccine remains plentiful, free to receive and effective at protecting against severe cases of COVID-19.
According to a GDPH release issued last week, there had been 20,041 confirmed COVID deaths statewide as of Sept. 3. Eighty-three of those were Gilmer County residents, also according to GDPH data.
“It is tragic, but not surprising,” said Dr. Kathleen Toomey, GDPH commissioner, about the statewide number of COVID deaths. “Ninety-seven percent of COVID deaths since we’ve had vaccine are in unvaccinated individuals. These deaths are preventable.”
The Delta Variant continues to drive new cases in Georgia counties including Gilmer, where a temporary drop in new cases had been seen shortly after vaccine eligibility was expanded.
“The Delta Variant is much more contagious than the previous variant. That’s why we’re seeing the spike in new cases. Even though somebody may be vaccinated or already had COVID, they are still susceptible to the Delta Variant,” stated Sherry Gregory, infectious disease director for the North Georgia Health District (NGHD).
During a quarterly teleconference meeting of the Gilmer County Board of Health this past June, Dr. Zachary Taylor, health district director, said the county was finally seeing a “good downturn in cases” with 20 new cases in the past two weeks.
As of Sept. 3, there had been 449 cases here in the past two weeks, according to GDPH data. That number includes both PCR (laboratory processed) tests and rapid tests. Public health stats also show the new case rate climbing particularly in the 5-17 age group.
“This new variant is reacting to a lot of different age groups. It is definitely in the younger community, where the first wave was primarily in seniors,” said Gregory.
Gilmer’s current full vaccination rate is 35.9 percent (10,761), while 39 percent (11,694) have received at least one dose. In Georgia, 44 percent of Georgians (4.1 million) have been fully vaccinated, while 46 percent (4.7 million) have received at least one dose.
Gilmer is considered a high transmission county by GDPH, but it’s far from alone in that designation. All but two of Georgia’s 159 counties (Fayette and Jefferson) are now considered high transmission counties. The definition used for “high transmission” is 14-day case rates with over 100 cases per 100,000 residents and a 14-day average for positive PCR tests that’s more than 10 percent.
Vaccine, testing
readily available
The Gilmer County Health Department continues to offer COVID vaccinations on a walk-in basis during its normal operating hours. At last check, the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines were all still available.
“We urge everyone age 12 and older to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The vaccine is free and available at all our county health departments. No appointment is needed,” confirmed Jennifer King, NGHD public information officer.
Several local pharmacies are also still offering COVID vaccinations. As of last week, the GDPH’s online vaccine tracker listed five local pharmacies as vaccination sites.
Even though vaccinated persons can contract the Delta Variant, the best protection against a severe or fatal form of the disease is to get vaccinated, Gregory noted.
“We know that vaccines are effective, but (there are some) people who just do not want to get it,” she added. “Maybe some of the younger generation (thinks) they are invincible, and it wasn’t bad for so-and-so. If I get it, I get it. But they don’t understand they can pass it along to somebody who it can be detrimental for.”
COVID booster shots are not yet being offered by health departments, but that could change, noted King.
“We are anticipating that door will open wider, but, right now, (boosters) are only for the immunocompromised,” she added. “Public health is not able to roll that out yet, so we are telling patients that fit that category to contact their health care provider and see what recommendations they can provide.”
The number of COVID tests administered here has also increased since case numbers began climbing again.
The health department had stopped offering testing, instead concentrating on the vaccination effort. The rise in new cases brought testing back to the facility last month under the direction of Mako Medical, a North Carolina-based diagnostic testing company that previously partnered with health departments across the state to provide expanded COVID testing.
As of Aug. 30, that COVID testing service had already moved to the Gilmer County Civic Center to accommodate larger turnouts. Drive-thru testing is now available at the Civic Center, 1561 South Main Street, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
The Mako COVID testing is only available in three of the health district’s six counties —Gilmer, Whitfield and Cherokee. There have been 509 tests done in Gilmer since Mako resumed the service Aug. 18, noted King.
“Prior to the increase in cases, which has been mainly due to the rapid spread of the Delta Variant among the unvaccinated and some breakthrough cases, our daily numbers for testing at the sites Mako operated in Whitfield and Cherokee had dwindled down to the mid-100s to 200s. Now, the districtwide daily numbers range from the 300s to as high as nearly 800 on one recent date,” she added.
Testing pre-registration can be done online at MAKO.Exchange/Splash/GAmakotesting. Anyone unable to register online can do so at the testing site. As of this week, the East Ellijay Walgreens and CVS pharmacies were also listed by the GDPH as local COVID testing and vaccination locations.
“We are encouraging anyone who has COVID-19 type symptoms or has been exposed to someone who has a confirmed case to get tested, whether or not they’ve been fully vaccinated. This will not only help people who test positive know how to proceed toward recovery and prevent spreading the virus to others, it also helps public health with contact tracing to prevent the spread of the virus in our communities,” said King.