Pitt County health director not alarmed by uptick in COVID-19 cases

PITT COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - The CDC says mRNA COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the FDA like Pfizer, Moderna, and BioNTech, reduce the risk of infection by 91% for fully vaccinated people.

And getting the vaccine could be the key in preventing a spike in cases here in Pitt and other counties like what has happened in Onslow County where they are seeing an almost 50% increase from last week.

With 40% of Pitt county fully vaccinated against COVID-19, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

After the July 4th weekend, Pitt County is seeing an increase in cases.

But it’s not near as bad as it was two months ago when the county saw 524 active cases in May at an 8% positivity rate, compared to the current 171 active cases this month at a 6.7% positivity rate.

In a few weeks, school will be back in session for lots of students but schools are still waiting on guidance from the state when it comes to what school will exactly look like.

The Pitt County Health Director said the Pitt County Schools Superintendent believes that about 80% of his workforce is vaccinated.

To date, the county has given out over 75,000 first doses of the vaccine and 14% of 12-17 year old’s in Pitt County are vaccinated and ready for the school year.

But elementary, middle, high school and college students have to still take precautions when they head back into the classroom to prevent a spike in cases.

Dr. Silvernail said vaccine demand remains low in Pitt County with 1 in every 20 people accepting the vaccine.

A board of health meeting was held Tuesday night where Dr. Silvernail gave an updated COVID-19 report to directors.

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