Dr. Barbara Brookmyer said there will be a “soft-launch” this week
Frederick, MD (KB) Many of the COVID-19 statistics for Frederick County continue to decline with the exception of hospitalizations. That’s according to County Executive Jan Gardner who spoke about that Thursday during her public information briefing.
She said this week, Frederick Health Hospital has 40 patients hospitalized for the coronavirus. Five are in five in intensive care.
“That is seven more people than were hospitalized when I stood here a week ago,” said Gardner. “I really have no good explanation why new cases are going down and hospitalizations are staying high, but it is a concern.”
Gardner also said where people catch COVID-19 has also changed since the pandemic began last year.
“In the first surge, most of our deaths were related to nursing homes,” explained Gardner. “That is not the case anymore, many of these are now deaths that are occurring among people who contracted COVID out in the community.”
Gardner said this reflects the need for residents to continue to wear a mask, social distance, and wash hands.
Also at the briefing, Health Officer Dr. Barbara Brookmyer announced a potential drive-through vaccination clinic.
“This week in Frederick County we will have a ‘soft-launch,’ if you will, of our drive-through clinic,” stated Dr. Brookmyer. “We have spaced appointments apart and scheduled under 200 appointments just so we can see how that goes.”
The doctor said individuals with known allergic reactions to injectable medicine should not use the drive-through clinic.
Dr. Brookmyer also said newly-approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine has proved effective against the South Africa variant of the coronavirus.