Columbus hospitals urge residents to get COVID vaccine as cases rise across Georgia
Columbus’ two hospitals are experiencing different levels of COVID-19 as cases and hospitalizations rise across the state of Georgia.
Melody Trimble, chief executive officer of St. Francis-Emory Healthcare, said in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer that most of their recent patients hospitalized with coronavirus are unvaccinated.
However, the number of hospitalizations remains low, with only seven being treated for the virus as of July 22. Trimble said the number of St. Francis-Emory’s COVID inpatients has remained steady over the past month.
At Piedmont Columbus Regional, senior communications specialist Jessica Roberts reports an increase in COVID-19 patients, paralleling what’s happening around Georgia. Roberts wouldn’t comment on whether the patients receiving treatment are vaccinated.
Piedmont continues to use the old Doctor’s Hospital building as a dedicated unit to treat COVID-19 patients, she said.
Public health officials have warned about a spike in COVID-19 cases among the unvaccinated as the Delta variant spreads. This variant is highly transmissible, and its presence in Georgia has increased in recent weeks, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of July 20, the latest data available, 36.6% of COVID-19 cases in Georgia are attributed to the Delta variant.
Muscogee County has had 152 cases per 100,000 people in the last two weeks, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Monday update. This is up from a rate of 126 cases per 100,000 people reported on Friday.
Over the past two weeks, 292 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Muscogee County, according to DPH.
Thirty-one percent of residents in the county are fully vaccinated, with 35% having received at least one dose of the vaccine. Hospital officials encourage getting vaccinated, observing social distancing and practicing good hygiene as protections from the virus.
“The best defense is to get a COVID-19 vaccine,” Trimble said in the email. “And encourage everyone you know to get vaccinated.”
This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 5:34 PM.
