Local vaccination rate continues to lag, another Grady Countian has died

Another new death of a Grady County resident attributed to COVID-19 brings our total death toll to 50 in the last year, based on information from Georgia Public Health. The number of new cases in the last week involving local residents was two.

Archbold Medical Center is reporting good news again this week with no covid-positive patients in any of its health care facilities as of Tuesday, including Grady General and Archbold Memorial hospitals. Spokeswoman Shealy Register reports there were zero hospital admissions of covid-positive patients at all in the last week.

The vaccination rate in Grady County remains unchanged this week, according to information from the Georgia Department of Public Health. There are 31 percent of Grady countians, or 7,669 people, who have had at least one dose of the vaccine, and 28 percent, or 7,023 people, who are fully vaccinated here.

Grady County lags behind its neighboring counties in vaccination rate. Those having at least one dose, by county, are 38 percent in Thomas County; 34 percent in Decatur County; and 33 percent in Mitchell County compared to Grady’s 31 percent.

Those considered fully vaccinated in neighboring counties are 34 percent in Thomas, and 31 percent in both Mitchell and Decatur counties, compared to Grady’s 28 percent.

Statewide, the percentage creeped up this week rising from 42 percent with one dose to 43 percent this week, and from 37 percent fully vaccinated last week to 38 percent this week.

All vaccinations are free to everyone.

Appointments can be made by calling either the Grady County Health Department at (229) 377-2992 or Archbold’s Corporate Care Center at (229) 584-SHOT or (229) 584-7468. Some local pharmacies and doctor’s offices are also offering the vaccine.

The state has decided to halt updating its online COVID-19 Daily Status Report and the COVID vaccine dashboard on weekends and holidays.

Updates will continue Monday through Friday at 3 p.m. for both data resources, though, according to Nancy Nydam, director of communications for the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Nydam reports public health officials will continue to collect all data including case and testing numbers, deaths and hospitalizations, as well as statewide vaccination information, and data will be closely monitored to quickly identify and mitigate clusters or outbreaks of COVID-19 infection.