Hamilton County officials confirmed on Thursday that a more contagious variant of the coronavirus is spreading in the Chattanooga region, even though they offered the first detailed plans for a third vaccination site that will open on Friday at Enterprise South Nature Park.
The county’s vaccination efforts are expanding to the third site, as case levels continue to fall. The initiative comes when County Mayor Jim Coppinger confirmed the presence of the variant for the first time.
“You’ve heard a lot about variations across the county. I identified this here in Hamilton County,” Coppinger said during a live broadcast Thursday afternoon. “It simply came to our notice then [strain] of this virus. “
Coppinger told the Times Free Press after the live broadcast that he was referring to the COVID-19 samples analyzed by Baylor school scientists, who presented their findings at this week’s COVID-19 Joint Task Force.
Baylor School scientist Elizabeth Forrester said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that several patients in the Chattanooga region whose samples were sent to Baylor for testing have been infected with the commonly reported B117 variant. the UK version.
B117 spreads easier and faster than other variants, according to the CDC. Some reports in the United Kingdom indicate that B117 may be associated with an increased risk of death, but more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
The health department will begin delivering doses to Enterprise South on Friday at 9 a.m. for those scheduled.
Sabrina Novak, director of administrative services for the health department, presented a map of the flow of traffic through the park. Dose-seekers will drive one way through a short loop in the park, with a waiting area, a screening station and a road section for people to pass by and wait to make sure there are no reactions. negative to the vaccine.
“The wonderful thing about the Enterprise South location is that even if we start with a small loop, we actually have the opportunity to extend this to a medium route as well as a large route. So if at some point we want to increase the number of meetings that go through this property, we have that flexibility to be able to do that, “Novak said.
As of Wednesday, more than 59,000 doses of vaccine had been administered in Hamilton County, and the county was getting an average of about 850 new vaccines for the first dose a day last week, according to Hamilton County Health Department. Starting Monday, county residents aged 65 and over, as well as Phase 1b workers, will be eligible for vaccines.
The decision to expand age eligibility and include childcare and preschoolers, as well as K-12 teachers and school staff will add tens of thousands of people to the eligible pool, while county officials continue to say the supply of vaccines is limited.
Coppinger said Thursday that the goal is to vaccinate 80 percent of Hamilton County and asked residents to talk to people they know who might be reluctant to receive a dose.
Contact Elizabeth Fite at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @ecfite. Contact Wyatt Massey at [email protected] or 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @ news4mass.