September 22, 2021 Update

Vaccines > Variants

As of the CDC's interpretive summary for September 17, after experiencing a brief decline in COVID-19 cases, the United States was once again seeing an increase in cases in most of the country.

This recent increase follows a previous summer surge that was fueled by the highly contagious Delta (B.1.617.2) variant and low vaccination coverage in many communities. COVID-19 vaccines offer strong protection against serious illness and death. High vaccination coverage is proven to reduce the spread of the virus. The less a virus spreads, the less opportunity there is for new variants to emerge.

The virus that causes COVID-19 constantly changes, or mutates, producing new variants of the virus. The Delta variant continues to be the predominant strain in the United States, making up more than 99% of cases.

On August 30, 2021, the World Health Organization classified the Mu (B.1.621) variant as a Variant of Interest (VOI). CDC has not designated Mu as a VOI at this time. The Mu variant reached a peak in the United States in late June 2021 and has steadily declined since then.* CDC continues to study and monitor all known variants and will continue to provide information when variants change classification in the United States.

Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself, your family, and your community. It is also the best way to prevent new variants from emerging. A recent CDC study found that people who were not fully vaccinated had about 10 times the risk of being hospitalized with or dying from COVID-19 compared with people who were fully vaccinated. CDC recommends that everyone in the United States 12 years and older get vaccinated as soon as possible. To find a vaccine provider near you, visit Vaccines.gov or your state or local public health department website.

*At its peak, Mu made up less than 5% of all variants circulating in the United States. As of the CDC September 17 reporting summary, Mu made up less than 1% of all COVID-19 cases in the United States.

COVID-19 Cases, Admissions, Deaths & Vaccinations in Athens-Clarke County

Positive UGA COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck - (Sept. 13-19)

The University of Georgia DawgCheck tool gives members of the campus community the ability to self-monitor and to facilitate information sharing internally and with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Any student or employee with a positive COVID-19 test is required to report the test in DawgCheck.

For the week of September 13, there were 77 reported positive COVID-19 tests through DawgCheck.

Last Five Weeks of Tests

Visit the UGA Health Center website with these graphs and other updates.

The table above reflects the total number of positive test results reported through DawgCheck each week. It is updated every Wednesday. Please note the following:

Positive tests reported through DawgCheck are from any of the approximately 50,000 faculty, staff, and students connected to the University of Georgia, whether located in Athens, extended campuses, extension offices across the state, or even other states and countries for students who elected to take online classes.
The totals may include reports from individuals who have not been on campus recently, there may be delays in reporting, and the totals may even include individuals who have recovered.
Therefore, the data do not serve as an accurate barometer of the current status of COVID-19 at any point in time at any one of UGA’s campuses.
Since August 10, 2020 UGA has supported surveillance testing for asymptomatic individuals and clinical (Health Center) testing resources for symptomatic students as a means of distancing the two populations and optimizing the use of Health Center staff and the facility. Because students are showing symptoms when they request a test at the Health Center, it is expected that its tests would have a significantly higher positivity rate than would be the case for those who are asymptomatic when tested.
Results of testing at the University Health Center (symptomatic) for the week of September 12 include a total of 502 COVID-19 tests; there were 18 positive tests. The positivity rate was 3.5%.
Results of asymptomatic testing: 1196 tests were conducted with 8 positive results, for a positivity rate of 0.7%.

DawgCheck and other University of Georgia-related COVID information is available at the University Health Center website at https://uhs.uga.edu/healthtopics/covid-19-health-and-exposure-updates.

Clarke County School District COVID-19 Dashboard - September 22, 2021

The CCSD COVID-19 Dashboard displays positive cases in the past 14 days and 30 days across the district and by each school, with hourly updates.

As of 4:40 PM on September 22, 2021, the dashboard shows:

260 confirmed cases in September 2021 (194 on Sept. 15 report)
502 confirmed cases in August 2021
419 confirmed cases in the past 30 days (508 on Sept. 15 report)
145 new confirmed cases in the past two weeks (158 on Sept. 15 report)
3.1% of students and staff with confirmed cases in the last 30 days (3.6% on Sept. 15 report)
0.1% of students and staff currently in quarantine (0.3% on Sept. 15 report)

Clarke County School District Case Count

Dashboard available at https://analytics.zoho.com/open-view/2089492000003337273.

Free COVID-19 Vaccine Events

Below are some upcoming opportunities for free vaccinations from the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) Northeast Health District (NEHD). (Schedules subject to change by NEHD - verify information on the NEHD website.)

No appointment needed
Walk-ups welcome
No insurance required
No ID required
$100 gift card incentive program now in place (see below)

Friday, September 24
Athens Housing Authority (2nd Doses)
300 South Rocksprings Street
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Saturday, September 25
Highland Greens Resource Fair
(in partnership with Family Connection-Communities in Schools)
Highland Greens Mobile Home Park, 950 Danielsville Rd, Athens, GA 30601
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

The Athens-Clarke County COVID-19 vaccine incentive program provides $100 gift cards for those who live, work or attend school in Athens-Clarke County and who receive their first vaccine at the Clarke County Health Department or one of these outreach events (only events in Athens-Clarke).

Upcoming event listings are updated every Friday online on the NEHD website

Resources:

Learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines at bit.ly/NEHDCOVIDVaccine.
PublicHealthIsForEveryone.com
Clarke County Health Department on Facebook