Three additional deaths associated with COVID-19 have been confirmed by the Alexander County Health Department. Assistant Health Director Billie Walker says that 84 people have died with COVID-19 symptoms. Some 13 people are hospitalized. On a more positive note, only one additional case case was reported on Tuesday as of 5pm according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. 3.919 cases have now been counted since the beginning of the pandemic.
The health department continues to conduct drive-thru testing clinics on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:00 a.m., although there has been a significant decrease in testing.
Walker said the county has received 500 first doses of the Moderna vaccine for the past two weeks, but is unsure how many doses will be received next week. In total, the county has received 6,550 doses and have administered 6,458 doses by making efforts to avoid waste.
She said the health department has been very busy with planning, scheduling, and administering the vaccine. The new vaccine hotline has received 64,681 calls since it was established in early January 2021.
Currently, the health department is focusing on teachers and child care staff with more than 350 vaccinations scheduled for Wednesday, March 3 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at both the health department and the Alexander Senior Center. Health staff has been working with local manufacturers to schedule their employees to be vaccinated beginning Wednesday, March 10, if vaccine supply allows.
At the County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, Leeanne Whisnant, Consolidated Human Services Director, said, “We appreciate our volunteers, EMS, pharmacists, and others who are helping us. I’m proud of the response and our dedicated staff. We’ve had a lot of compliments, so I believe it’s been going very well.”