BENTON TOWNSHIP — COVID-19 vaccinations have started to outpace the number of infections in Berrien County.
This week the county hit 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 13,000 doses of vaccine administered.
“The supply is still ramping up, but we’re committed locally to administering 90 percent of doses we receive within a week. We’ve been meeting that goal,” Nicki Britten, health officer for the Berrien County Health Department (BCHD), said during a Facebook Live update Friday.
As of Thursday, the county had given 13,015 doses of vaccine, with 1,662 of those being second doses, according to state figures. That’s an additional 4,675 doses over last Thursday. The previous week the county gave about 3,424 doses.
That means about 7 percent of the county’s population has received the first dose of the vaccine, based off U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for 2019.
Britten reported Friday that of the about 30,000 people 65 and older in Berrien County, 20,000 have put their name on the BCHD’s vaccine waitlist. Of those, the health department has vaccinated about 3,000.
“We’re still urging patience. We’ll get to you,” she said.
Britten said the BCHD should be able to start vaccinating teachers, child care facility staff, and others who work in close proximity to children, in about two weeks.
“We’re working closely with all schools, public and private, to make the arrangements,” she said. “The increase in vaccine supply that we’re expecting should help get that effort strongly underway in the next few weeks.”
Most front-line health care workers who wanted the vaccine have received it, though Britten said some are still coming forward to get it.
She said as more vaccines are approved and enter the market, and more providers have access, vaccination efforts are going to start moving much more rapidly.
Week-to-week COVID data
On Friday, Berrien County passed the grim milestone of 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, though the growth rate of new cases continues to decline, as well as hospitalizations.
Of the 10,033 cases, 1,330 are active, with 197 deaths and 8,506 recoveries.
This week the county recorded 260 new COVID-19 cases, which is down from 293 cases last week and 344 cases the week before that. That’s about where the county was in October last year.
In addition, the county recorded six COVID-19 deaths this week. That’s compared to five deaths last week.
The county still has 17 presumed COVID-19 deaths, and is at 804 presumed cases of COVID-19. That’s an addition of 38 presumed cases since last Friday.
No variant strains of COVID-19 have been found in Berrien County yet, though Britten said they are watching for it.
She said the county’s percent of COVID-19 tests that are coming back positive is about 7 percent, and that testing is still at a good level.
COVID-19 patients at Spectrum Health Lakeland averaged about 21 a day this week, with 19 patients admitted Friday morning. That’s down from last week’s average of 36 patients a day, and 41 patients a day the week before.
Van Buren/Cass
COVID-19 case growth in Van Buren and Cass counties to be steady.
Cass County recorded 86 new COVID-19 cases this week and no new deaths. Last week the county had recorded 72 new cases.
Van Buren County recorded 91 new COVID-19 cases this week and one new death. Last week the county had recorded 106 new cases.
In total, Cass County has recorded 3,382 COVID-19 cases and 53 deaths. Van Buren County has recorded 4,454 COVID-19 cases and 81 deaths.
Vaccine distribution in Van Buren and Cass counties seems to be lagging slightly behind Berrien County.
Van Buren County has given one dose of vaccine to about 6 percent of its estimated population, while Cass County has given the first dose to about 2.5 percent of its population.
In total, Van Buren County has administered about 5,748 doses of vaccine, and Cass County has given 1,525 doses.
From last Thursday to this Thursday, Van Buren County administered 1,479 doses, while Cass County administered 560 doses.
Last week, Van Buren County gave about 1,294 doses and Cass County gave about 323 doses.
