By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
With another 15 residents testing positive for COVID Monday, Sitka’s 14-day rolling case average went higher, to 8.36 cases per day.
After 10 days of 10 or fewer cases per day, the dashboard marked a big spike Sunday of 19 cases for residents, and two nonresidents. In addition to the 15 residents testing positive for the virus Monday there was one non-resident.
Six new resident cases were added by press time today.
The current number of active cases in the community is up to 97.
On Friday U.S. Centers for Disease Control endorsed the use of a booster shot for “certain immuno-compromised patients,” but local authorities have not announced any plans for this add-on immunization program.
Public health authorities say this category of medically vulnerable individuals, who have already received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, make up a disproportionate number of break-through COVID infections.
The CDC says individuals who are immuno-compromised include those who have:
– received active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies
– received solid-organ transplant and are taking immunosuppressive therapy
– received CAR-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within two years of transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
– moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
– advanced or untreated HIV infection
– active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., those taking more than 20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.
Reuters news agency reported Friday that the CDC said those seeking a booster shot would self-attest that they are eligible and would not need a prescription or recommendation from a healthcare provider.
No instructions have been issued to the public for the third shot in Sitka, but an optional “third dose” is available on the sitkapharmacies.com vaccine signup site.
