Hamilton County officials on Thursday confirmed that a much more contagious variant of the coronavirus is spreading in the Chattanooga region, even when they offered the first detailed plans for a third vaccination site to open on Friday at the Enterprise. South Nature Park.
County vaccination efforts are expanding to the third location as case levels continue to decline. The initiative comes when Mayor Jim Coppinger confirms the presence of the variant for the first time.
“You have heard a lot about the variants across the county. We have identified this here in Hamilton County,” Coppinger said during a live broadcast on Thursday afternoon. “It means that it is much more contagious [strain] of this virus. “
Coppinger told the Times Free Press after the live broadcast that he was referring to samples of COVID-19 analyzed by researchers at Baylor School, who presented their findings during this week’s Joint Task Force COVID-19 meeting.
Elizabeth Forrester, a scientist at the Baylor school, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that several patients in the Chattanooga region, whose samples were sent to Baylor for testing, were infected with the B117 variant, commonly referred to as the variant from UK.
The B117 spreads easier and faster than other variants, according to the CDC. Some UK reports indicate that B117 may be associated with an increased risk of death, but further studies are needed to confirm this finding.
The health department will start giving doses at Enterprise South on Friday at 9 am for those with an appointment.
Sabrina Novak, director of administrative services at the health department, presented a map of the traffic flow in the park. People looking for doses will drive down the one-way road through a short stretch in the park, with a waiting area, a sorting station and a stretch of road for people to stop and wait to ensure there are no negative reactions to the vaccine .
“What is lovely about the location of Enterprise South is that, although we are starting with the small loop, we actually have the opportunity to expand to a medium route and a large route as well. So, if at some point, we want to increase the number of queries that pass through this property, we have this flexibility to be able to do that, “said Novak.
On Wednesday, more than 59,000 doses of vaccine were given in Hamilton County, and the county was receiving an average of about 850 new first vaccine doses per day last week, according to data from the County Health Department. Hamilton. As of Monday, county residents aged 65 and over, as well as workers in phase 1b, will be eligible for vaccines.
The decision to expand eligibility by age and to include daycare and preschool workers, as well as elementary and high school teachers and school staff, will add tens of thousands of people to the eligible group, as county officials continue to say that vaccine supply is limited.
Coppinger said on Thursday that the goal is to vaccinate 80% of Hamilton County and asked residents to talk to people they know who may be hesitant 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.