Garrett County COVID-19 Trends Over the Past Six Weeks

By Diane Lee, Public Information Officer, Garrett County Health Department

In Garrett County, cases of COVID-19 have continued to rise, including during the most recently reported week ending on 9/22/21.

According to Deputy Health Officer Dr. Jennifer Corder, “In the most recently analyzed week, hospitalizations in Garrett County for COVID-19 have occurred exclusively among people who were not fully vaccinated. While no vaccine is 100% effective, the COVID-19 vaccine offers very strong protection against being hospitalized from COVID-19. It is the best layer of protection that exists and the safest way to gain immunity.”

A look at the COVID-19 data from August 5, 2021 through September 15, 2021, demonstrates the following:
• 84.4% of new COVID-19 cases have occurred among the unvaccinated (453 out of 537); 15.6% were among the vaccinated (84 out of 537).
• 86.2% of hospitalized patients were unvaccinated (25 out of 29); 13.8% were vaccinated (4 out of 29).
• Cases of COVID-19 under the age of 18 make up 19% of total cases with a continuing trend of growing case numbers in that age group.
• 75% of people over the age of 65 in Garrett County have been fully vaccinated (79.5% have received at least one vaccine). This age group is not experiencing growing case numbers. They represent 11.4% of the total new cases for this time period (61 out of 537).

“The surge in cases of the delta variant of COVID-19 is being driven by the unvaccinated,” Dr. Corder said. “Unvaccinated people age 12 and older are experiencing the brunt of the new cases, as expected,” she continued. “People over the age of 12 have a choice. Being vaccinated will reduce community outbreaks, and allow life to get back to normal more quickly.”

The following charts show the trend over the last six weeks. They were used to compile the information in this article: