South Georgia Medical Center continues to make vaccinations available at its Smith Northview campus and encourages all eligible citizens to receive their COVID-19 vaccination or booster shot.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recent data shows that those unvaccinated are at 10-times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19, and 20-times greater risk of dying from the virus compared to the fully vaccinated and boosted.
“This is a serious statistic and mimics what we’ve seen here locally within our health system,” said SGMC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Dawson. Since Dec. 1, of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 90 percent were unvaccinated. Furthermore, of those requiring a mechanical ventilator to support breathing, 100 percent had not been vaccinated.
SGMC saw its lowest census for COVID-19 inpatients on Dec. 14 at three patients, but today is treating 9. There’s also been a rise in flu cases, the system diagnosed more than 800 cases over the last four weeks.
“We want to encourage everyone to continue to practice recommended safety measures to avoid getting sick, especially over the holidays when more people are traveling and attending gatherings,” said Dawson. “So far, the vaccine has shown to provide the best protection.”
Additionally, the CDC recommends wearing a mask, staying 6 feet away from others, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, testing to prevent the spread to others, washing your hands often, covering coughs and sneezes, cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces, and monitoring your health often.
COVID-19 vaccinations, testing and monoclonal antibody infusions continue to be administered at the SGMC Smith Northview Campus. Vaccines are available for anyone 5 and older, boosters are available for those 16 and older. Boosters are recommended for fully vaccinated individuals who received their last dose more than six months ago.
For more information on COVID-19 services, visit sgmc.org/COVID-19-information.