Baltimore Covid Cases Up 471% In One Month As City Prepares To Administer COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Mayor Brandon Scott said successful a COVID-19 update Thursday greeting that covid cases successful the metropolis person skyrocketed successful the past month, but truthful has the complaint of vaccines being administered successful immoderate communities.

Cases are up 471% successful the metropolis compared to a period ago. The authorities is reporting an mean of 74 cases per day, Scott said.

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According to Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, young residents apical caller infections. Those aged 20-29 correspond astir caller infections followed intimately by children nether property 10.

“We are acrophobic astir cases successful young people,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa.

Hospitalizations are up successful the metropolis with 85% of the city’s ICU beds and 88% of acute attraction beds utilized.

“But caller deaths are inactive low, mostly owed to our vaccination efforts,” said Scott. “As the Delta variant continues to spread, we cognize that vaccines are the quality betwixt beingness and death, and our communities and for our residents.”

On Wednesday, the metropolis reached implicit 65% of residents implicit 18 with astatine slightest 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Baltimore coronavirus cases up 471% compared to 1 period ago; Mayor Scott speaks successful moments @wjz pic.twitter.com/yUSPPenWmy

— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) August 19, 2021

Dr. Dzirasa said Baltimore City has been a person successful the authorities amid caller vaccinations, and that the metropolis has seen a emergence successful African Americans getting the shot.

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“Although determination has been a diminution locally and nationally successful the fig of vaccines being administered, we are arrogant to enactment that Baltimore City advancement and individuals getting vaccinated each week is consistently 1 of the highest successful the state,” said Dzirasa.

Dzirasa said astir fractional of each archetypal oregon azygous doses of the vaccine successful the metropolis person been to African American residents successful the past period and a half.

“Since July 1, we person seen a 12.2% summation and the fig of African American metropolis residents getting a archetypal oregon azygous dose of vaccine,” she said. “This brings america to a full of implicit 154,000 archetypal oregon azygous doses among African American metropolis residents to date.”

Since July 1 We person seen a 12.2 summation and the fig of African American metropolis residents getting a archetypal oregon azygous dose of vaccine. This brings america to a full of implicit 154,000 births oregon azygous doses among African American metropolis residents to date.

The national authorities announced Wednesday it is prepared to administer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to Americans by the week of September 20, and Dr. Dzirasa said the metropolis is preparing to administer booster doses successful September.

Baltimore City’s wellness section volition archetypal rotation the doses retired to the antithetic groups that were prioritized during archetypal vaccinations.

As adjacent counties instrumentality vaccine mandates for region employees, Mayor Scott said helium is not acceptable to denote a vaccine mandate for metropolis employees, but helium volition marque a determination connected whether to bash that soon.

According to a survey, astir 60% of employees self-reported they are vaccinated.

For the latest accusation connected coronavirus spell to the Maryland Health Department’s website oregon telephone 211. You tin find each of WJZ’s sum on coronavirus successful Maryland here.

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CBS Baltimore Staff