Garrett tops state in percentage of population vaccinated

“We’re doing better than any county in the state,” Stephens said.

However, the Garrett County Health Department is receiving 400 doses of the vaccine each week from the state’s allotment of 72,000 doses, he said — and that can only go so far as the county progresses through Maryland’s tiered system of vaccination priority.

The county has essentially finished in Tier 1A, which includes health care workers, first responders and the residents and employees of nursing facilities.

The health department has been dedicated to completing Tier 1B, which focuses on assisted living facilities, education, continuity of government — and the general population aged 75 and older.

This week, the county will have vaccinated more than 600 people over the age of 75, Stephens said.

Tiers 1A and 1B combined amount to 3,500 people in Garrett County, and will take three to four weeks to complete, according to Stephens.

“We have to get those phases before we move to Phase 1C,” he said. “The governor has said next week, we could move to 1C, but we’re not going to” because of the limited number of vaccine doses being received.

Tier 1C will include people ages 65-74, as well as essential workers in lab services, agriculture, manufacturing and mail operations.

As it may be months before there is an adequate supply of vaccine, Stephens emphasized the continued need for safe practices.

“The masks work. We’re seeing more compliance in the county, in larger settings,” he said.

Face coverings are necessary in all interpersonal settings, as the person most likely to spread the virus will be a family member, friend, co-worker or member of a church congregation, Stephens said.

The virus continues to take its toll on the elderly population.

“Our numbers here in Garrett County have stabilized a little bit in the last couple of weeks. We’ve gotten past that Christmas surge,” Stephens said. “I just can’t emphasize enough how devastating this COVID-19 is on our older population.”

While those who have died from the virus and its complications have ranged in age to 18 to 102, most have been over age 75. Of the 56 deaths in the county, 38 have been in nursing homes, he said.

Making appointments

Garrett County residents who are at least 75 years old can use a link on garretthealth.org to register for appointments to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The link will be available until the clinic is fully booked.

Registrations will only be honored for anyone who is age 75 and older, or for anyone not yet vaccinated in the Priority Group 1A, including health care and first responders, and as long as available doses remain.

“The best way to register for an appointment will be to go to garretthealth.org and click on the link,” Stephens said. “The link will be removed from the website when the appointments are fully booked. We remind the community to be patient while we wait for scarce vaccine to be allocated to Garrett County by the state.”

Although Phase 1B includes K-12 teachers, education staff, and child-care providers, Garrett County will not yet be scheduling appointments for this group because of the limited vaccine availability.

Garrett’s numbers

The health department reported 90 COVID-19 cases in the past week, bringing the cumulative total to 1,737 as of Wednesday.

No deaths were reported in the county in the past week, keeping the total to 56.

The seven-day positivity rate for Garrett County was 14.5% as of Wednesday, rising from 13.8% last week, with 28,063 confirmed negative test results. Garrett’s positivity rate remains higher than that of the entire state, which stood at 7.76% Wednesday.

The seven-day case rate per 100,000 people in the county was 44.3, dropping from 53.7 last week. That also brings the county’s rate in line with the state again, with the state at 43.1 cases per 100,000 people. Garrett County had its highest seven-day average rate on Nov. 30, when its 123.59 average nearly quadrupled the state rate.

Garrett Regional Medical Center on Tuesday reported six hospitalizations because of the virus, and the hospital was using 75% of the beds it had allocated for COVID-19 treatment.

Free testing available

• Testing is available for anyone with or without symptoms at 46 Business Park Drive, Accident, (the MEDCO building in the McHenry Business Park) on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A doctor’s order is not required. Pre-registration is recommended to speed up the process on the testing day. Visit garretthealth.org for pre-registration information.

• Testing of people with symptoms is available at the health department’s office at 1025 Memorial Drive, Oakland, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 301-334-7697 for an appointment.

• Testing is available for anyone with or without symptoms at Allegany County Fairgrounds at 11400 Moss Ave., Cumberland, from 2-7 p.m. Mondays and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays. Appointments and doctors’ orders are not required.

• For people with a doctor’s order, drive-up testing is available at Garrett Regional Medical Center on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1-3 p.m. No appointment is required.

Around the region

As of Wednesday, Maryland had a total of 332,353 confirmed cases — a rise of 18,000 in the past week.

There have been 6,514 deaths (281 in the past week), and 1,858 people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19.

There have been 6.54 million tests performed in the state, with a positivity rate of 7.76%, down from 8.53% in the previous week.

By county, the cumulative totals are: Prince George’s, 63,994; Montgomery, 55,203; Baltimore, 44,639; Baltimore City, 36,055; Anne Arundel, 30,616; Frederick, 14,574; Howard, 13,657; Washington, 10,730; Harford, 10,476; Charles, 7,349; Carroll, 6,427; Allegany, 5,982; Wicomico, 5,832; Cecil, 4,487; St. Mary’s, 4,234; Calvert, 3,119; Worcester, 2,851; Queen Anne’s, 2,210; Somerset, 2,121; Dorchester, 1,877; Garrett, 1,737; Caroline, 1,684; Talbot, 1,543; and Kent, 956.

In West Virginia, there have been 111,677 cases and 1,836 deaths.

Nine counties are eligible to have in-person instruction in high schools, while West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and the state board of education are requiring pre-K through eighth grade to return to the classrooms at least on a part-time basis regardless of the COVID-19 numbers.

Preston County has had 2,104 confirmed cases, 162 probable cases and 35 deaths; Tucker County, 290 cases and seven deaths; Grant County, 807 cases with 19 deaths; and Mineral County, 2,129 cases with 73 deaths.

In Pennsylvania, there were 689,913 cases and 19,868 deaths as of Wednesday. Fayette County has had 6,634 confirmed cases with 198 deaths; Somerset, 4,605 and 150 deaths; and Bedford, 2,594 with 115 deaths.