Vaccine eligibility expands

The governor recently allowed all Georgia adults to begin receiving vaccines, a dramatic expansion of eligibility. More than 3.6 million doses of the vaccines have now been administered in the state.

But Georgia still faces challenges distributing the lifesaving doses, and national trends suggest a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases is taking hold in parts of the U.S.

Georgia Department of Public Health data show a vast improvement since the January peak in cases and deaths. But the seven-day rolling average of new confirmed and suspected cases has plateaued since March 14. So has the number of people currently hospitalized in Georgia with COVID-19.

The key to avoiding a devastating fourth surge, public health experts said, is to maintain masking and social distancing to buy time — perhaps just a matter of several weeks — to vaccinate more of the public.

Dr. Cecil Bennett, medical director of a primary care center in Newnan and an adjunct professor at Morehouse School of Medicine’s Family Medicine Program, said he sees two possible scenarios with the governor’s easing of restrictions:

“First one, we have people on the beach on a bright sunny day and a Category 5 hurricane is coming, but it doesn’t matter to them today,” he said.

But, he said, there’s another possibility, “where opening the state may not be as bad it seems.”

Though the total number of coronavirus cases may rise, that might not lead to a jump in complications and hospitalizations because many people over the age of 50 have been vaccinated, he said.

Bennett said he would err on the side of caution and wait at least four weeks to see if another surge comes and what the effects may be before easing restrictions.