Georgia COVID cases up 49,000 in a week

♦ Locally, cases remain lower — but growing

Georgia appears to be ringing in the new year with a new surge of COVID-19.

This past week, Gordon County saw 94 new cases and no deaths. Across Georgia, 49,001 new cases and 157 deaths were reported.

Thankfully, case counts in Gordon County continue to trend lower than state counts, and local numbers are similar to those in late September or early October, with a moving average of 15 new cases per day.

The statewide numbers are analogous to the surges seen in Winter 2020-2021 and Summer 2021. While testing is up significantly from November numbers, positivity rates are also higher than they have been since Spring 2020, with the moving average at 23% as of Dec. 27.

For context, higher test positivity rates translate to high community spread, and tell public health officials that testing is not keeping up. In May 2020, the WHO recommended that governments should only begin reopening if positivity rates remain below 5% for two or more weeks.

Locally, test positivity has also spiked coming out of Christmas, with rates above 20%.

Due to the Christmas break, neither school system had cases to report. Gordon County Schools’ Christmas break runs through Jan. 4 while Calhoun City Schools students return on Jan. 4.

With rising case counts comes a swap in the dominant variant. On Dec. 4, the Delta variant accounted for 98% of new cases in Georgia, while CDC data from Dec. 21 now shows that Omicron accounts for 73% of new cases in the United States.

“Given the rapid transmissibility of the Omicron variant, the current proportion of Omicron in Georgia is likely similar to that of the national estimate,” said Georgia Department of Public Health in a press release, “and presumably will account for all new COVID cases in the state in the coming weeks.”

As the newest variant rapidly spreads, the first oral treatment for COVID-19 has been authorized for emergency use in the United States.

Paxlovid, which has been in the works by Pfizer since April, is an antiviral consisting of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets and is used in those 12 and older weighing at least 40 kilograms or 88 pounds. The drug is recommended for those who test positive and are at high risk of severe illness.

“Today’s authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge and promises to make antiviral treatment more accessible to patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19.”

Paxlovid is the only oral drug available under FDA emergency use authorization for treatment

of COVID-19. Many have touted the usage of other oral treatments, such a hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, but neither have been proven as a safe, effective treatment for COVID-19. Preliminary data for Paxlovid, which has been reviewed by the FDA, shows that it is safe and effective.

The pill works by using nirmatrelvir to inhibit a protein that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus uses to replicate, while ritonavir slows the breakdown of nirmatrelvir and allows it to remain in the body and continue working.

According to the FDA, data on the pill was collected using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial with over 2,000 patients. In that trial, Paxlovid reduced COVID-19 related hospitalization or death by 88%.

The reduction in hospitalization and death rates could bring crucial relief to overtaxed healthcare systems and their workers, who have worked tirelessly for two years to help patients infected with the disease.

At the same time, the CDC has updated isolation and quarantine guidelines for healthcare workers as cases countrywide continue to grow. Isolation refers to precautions taken after testing positive for COVID-19 while quarantine refers to precautions taken when exposed to the disease.

According to the updated guidelines:

Healthcare workers with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic can return to work after 7 days with a negative test, and that isolation time can be cut further if there are staffing shortages.

Healthcare workers who have received all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses, including a booster, do not need to quarantine at home following high-risk exposures.

“As the healthcare community prepares for an anticipated surge in patients due to Omicron, CDC is updating our recommendations to reflect what we know about infection and exposure in the context of vaccination and booster doses,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, “Our goal is to keep healthcare personnel and patients safe, and to address and prevent undue burden on our healthcare facilities. Our priority remains prevention — and I strongly encourage all healthcare personnel to get vaccinated and boosted.”

To find a COVID-19 test site, log on to dph.georgia. gov/covidtesting.