Low local COVID counts continue

With cases remaining low, Gordon County Emergency Management has made the decision to move to reporting new cases and deaths once weekly rather than daily.

“We will continue to monitor daily,” said Courtney Taylor, Director, “and if another spike should start to occur we will reevaluate going back to daily reporting.”

As such, new COVID-19 update stories will publish in the Wednesday edition of the Calhoun Times for the foreseeable future.

The final daily case report was for Tuesday, Nov. 2. Gordon County had seven new cases and no deaths. Statewide, there were 677 new cases and 45 deaths.

In vaccine-related news, the CDC has taken the final step in approving the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

“Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus that causes COVID-19,” CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H. said. “We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated and with this decision, we now have recommended that about 28 million children receive a COVID-19 vaccine.”

This decision means that shots can begin going in arms as soon as possible. The Pfizer vaccine has been reported as having a 91% efficacy rate in preventing COVID-19 in that age group, therefore reducing the risk of severe illness and long-term effects known as “long COVID.”

Side effects for the vaccination appear to be mild and resolve on their own, with the most common being a sore arm. Side-effects are similar with the Pfizer vaccine to other routine vaccines, and similar to side-effects seen in adults.