Covid Update: A Big Week for the Vaccination Program

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COURT HOUSE – This was a big week (Feb. 23-March 1) for news on the vaccination front. 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency approval for Johnson & Johnson’ssingle-shot vaccine, and New Jersey is expected to receive 70,000 doses of it in the coming week, along with its allotment of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. 
Cape May County continues to lead the state in the rate of vaccinated individuals per 100,000 of the population. State records show that county residents have received 29,408 doses. That number combines first and second doses administered. 
Frustration continues for many declared eligible butwhocannot find access to an appointment. State and county officials are hoping that expanding supply will resolve that issue. Yet, the target population for the vaccine continues expanding.
Gov. Phil Murphy March 1 announced that teachers and staff in pre-K through Grade 12 schoolswill be eligible for the vaccine regardless of age, beginning March 15. This adds New Jersey to an expanding number of states who have given teachers a priority in their vaccination programs. 
The move also means that as supply expands, so does the eligible population, potentially exacerbating the difficulties in obtaining an appointment. Knowing which is expanding faster isn’t possible until hard numbers on expected vaccine distributionare furnished.  
Through it all, the county’s Covid numbers continue to improve. The county is essentially back to the levels of community spread it experienced before the rapid rise in cases began in mid-November. 
This past week saw 215 new positive cases reported, 198 individuals who moved off quarantine, and a resulting addition of 13 to the active cases count. There were four new fatalities in the week ending March 1. There are now 338 reported active cases among county residents and four cases among nonresidents.
Covid-related hospitalizations are also at levels the state has not seen since mid-November. The county reported this week that Cape Regional Medical Center has seen its levels of infected inpatient activity decline “by approximately two-thirds from just a month ago.”
The state’s Covidactivity level report is at a moderate level for the first time since Nov. 7. The report has four levels of classification for six regions in the state – low, moderate, high and very high. Four of the six regions are currently categorized as moderate, including Cape May County’s southeast region.
The B.1.1.7 virus variant, which first surfaced in the U.K.,was confirmed in only 63 cases in New Jersey, two of which are from Cape May County. 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) reports 2,400 B.1.1.7 cases nationwide. The variant is considered 50% more infectious than the original virus. It was first reported in the U.S. in January and has now been confirmed in 44 states.
The expanding number of variants of the virus places added pressure on the vaccination programs. Widespread vaccination is seen as the primary defense against the virus’s ability to mutate. 
 Remembering that community spread continues is important. The numbers are all trending in the right direction, but the virus is still with us.
The county has approximately 76,000 residents over the age of 18. While the vaccine program is expanding, the majority of those resident adults have yet to receive any doses. County and state health officials continue to urge adherence to the protocols that have become a part of life for almost a year.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.