Forsyth County has been shifted back to the low community level for COVID-19, according to the latest update from the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.
The county was listed at the high level for three consecutive weeks before being lowered to medium last week.
The shift to the lowest COVID-19 level comes even though Forsyth was reported Wednesday with 886 cases for the week that ended June 25, up 11.9% from a revised 794 in the previous report from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Forsyth health director Joshua Swift has stressed that the DHHS weekly case totals include only laboratory-confirmed cases, and don’t include most people who determine they are positive with an at-home test. People are not required to report their positive tests to county health departments.
However, Swift said the department has seen an increase of people who test positive from an at-home kit that choose to verify the result through a test administered by the department.
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“While the risk level is low, COVID is still in our community, and people should take the precautions that fit their risk tolerance,” Swift said Friday.
“The best defense is to stay up-to-date on vaccine and boosters.”
The CDC listed only Alleghany County in the medium level for COVID-19, while the other 13 Triad and Northwest N.C. counties are at the low level.
Altogether, there are four N.C. counties with high levels of COVID-19, down from 12 last week.
The CDC’s COVID-19 community level is determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.
The CDC listed Forsyth with 158 new cases per 100,000 population, a rate of 9.8 new COVID-19 related hospital admissions per 100,000 and a 2.9% rate of staffed inpatient beds being used by COVID-19 patients.
Becky DeCamallis, an epidemiologist with Novant Health Infectious Diseases Specialists, said Forsyth remains at a 21% positive case level, which is up 5% from the previous week.
“Even though we still have COVID circulating in our area, we’re by and large not seeing folks having to be admitted to the hospital for COVID infection,” DeCamallis said.
On June 6, Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said city residents are being advised — but not mandated — to resume wearing masks indoors.
Forsyth is at 100,997 cases for the pandemic. Of the 886 new reported cases, DHHS said 116 represented people who have been re-infected with COVID-19.
Meanwhile, there were two COVID-19 related deaths last week for a total of 839 since the onset of the pandemic in mid-March 2020.
The weekly DHHS dashboard totals are subject to revision.
When newly listed cases and deaths are added retroactively to statewide and county totals, they are attributed to the week in which the positive case is determined.
Child vaccine update
Swift offered Thursday a brief update on the initial response to the COVID-19 vaccine being available to children ages 6 months to 4.
The vaccine is available at the county health department and at some at select Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Novant Health Inc. and Cone Health facilities.
Each provider requires an appointment for getting the vaccine in that age range.
The Forsyth health department said appointments can be scheduled at Bit.Ly/FCNCCovidVaccine. Vaccine clinic hours for that age group will be noon to 5 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays and noon to 8 p.m. Thursdays.
Swift said the department has been serving between 30 and 70 individuals per day, with about half of those being in the ages 6 months to 4 range.
“We are seeing a good bit of interest,” Swift said.
Swift said there have been a few situations in which parents opted to get their booster shot at the same time as their child’s first shot.
“It’s interesting that anytime we have a new group of eligible individuals it creates more interest, and it’s not just all little children,” Swift said.
Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infectious diseases expert with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, said Thursday that turnout “is pretty good” for COVID-19 vaccinations in the age group.
“It could be better, and I would not call it robust, but it’s summertime and people are on vacation,” Ohl said.
Established patients are encouraged to check their pediatric or family-medicine clinic’s website or Facebook page to find out if it is offering the vaccine, then call to schedule an appointment.
The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for three doses, while the Moderna vaccine will begin as two. Moderna is testing its third dose, with data expected this summer.
Moderna’s shots are one-quarter the dose of the company’s adult shots. Pfizer’s shots are just one-tenth its adult dose.
Children under 3 cannot be vaccinated by a pharmacist. Parents and guardians of children who do not have an established medical provider can visit MySpot.nc.gov to search for a nearby vaccine provider.
Ohl said it’s uncertain whether there will be specialized booster shot for those under age 18 by the fall.
Ohl said the second or third vaccine dose for the age group can be provided between four to eight weeks after the first.
“My suggestion is to wait eight weeks between the shots,” Ohl said.
Ohl said that data from Canadian public health providers show that the vaccine is more effective at an eight-week interval, and side effects — such as fever and soreness — tend to be more moderate.
