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May 8, 2021

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

News COVID-19

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 7

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m., although some counties do not update on weekends. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Kent County’s COVID-19 cases increased by 3 to 1,325.

• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.76%.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 452,035, an increase of 768 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, 11 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 8,642.

• The state’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.53% (-0.13 from yesterday).

Vaccinations

• The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 47.04% of Marylanders and 45.57% of Kent County residents; second dose rates are 33.98% and 36.81% respectively.

• To pre-register for a vaccine appointment (including for the mass vaccination clinic at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury), visit www.marylandvax.org or covidvax.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

• State Vaccine Information Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine

• Vaccination Site Search: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/nearby/index.html?appid=0dbfb100676346ed9758be319ab3f40c

Positivity Rate

• The state’s 7-day average positivity has been below 5% for 14 days and below 4% for 10 days.

Hospitalizations

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Maryland dropped by 42 in the last 24 hours.

• There currently are 859 people hospitalized — 640 in acute care and 219 in intensive care.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 6

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m., although some counties do not update on weekends. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Kent County’s COVID-19 cases increased by 4 to 1,322.

• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 2.09%.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 451,267, an increase of 578 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, 9 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 8,631.

• The state’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.66% (-0.05 from yesterday).

Vaccinations

• The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 46.78% of Marylanders and 45.29% of Kent County residents; second dose rates are 33.47% and 35.31% respectively.

• To pre-register for a vaccine appointment (including for the mass vaccination clinic at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury), visit www.marylandvax.org or covidvax.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

• State Vaccine Information Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine

• Vaccination Site Search: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/nearby/index.html?appid=0dbfb100676346ed9758be319ab3f40c

Positivity Rate

• The state’s 7-day average positivity has been below 5% for 13 days and below 4% for nine days.

Hospitalizations

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Maryland dropped by 33 in the last 24 hours.

• There currently are 901 people hospitalized — 663 in acute care and 238 in intensive care.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 5

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m., although some counties do not update on weekends. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Kent County’s COVID-19 cases remain at 1,318.

• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.92%.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 450,689, an increase of 679 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, 10 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 8,622.

• The state’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.71% (-0.11 from yesterday).

Vaccinations

• The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 46.48% of Marylanders and 45.24% of Kent County residents; second dose rates are 32.95% and 35.07% respectively.

• To pre-register for a vaccine appointment (including for the mass vaccination clinic at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury), visit www.marylandvax.org or covidvax.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

• State Vaccine Information Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine

• Vaccination Site Search: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/nearby/index.html?appid=0dbfb100676346ed9758be319ab3f40c

Positivity Rate

• The state’s 7-day average positivity has been below 5% for 12 days and below 4% for eight days.

Hospitalizations

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Maryland dropped by 10 in the last 24 hours.

• There currently are 934 people hospitalized — 688 in acute care and 246 in intensive care.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 4

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m., although some counties do not update on weekends. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Kent County’s COVID-19 cases remain at 1,318.

• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.85%.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 450,010, an increase of 501 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, 7 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 8,612.

• The state’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.82% (+0.13 from yesterday).

Vaccinations

• The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 46.16% of Marylanders and 44.91% of Kent County residents; second dose rates are 32.36% and 34.82% respectively.

• To pre-register for a vaccine appointment (including for the mass vaccination clinic at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury), visit www.marylandvax.org or covidvax.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

• State Vaccine Information Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine

• Vaccination Site Search: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/nearby/index.html?appid=0dbfb100676346ed9758be319ab3f40c

Positivity Rate

• The state’s 7-day average positivity has been below 5% for 11 days and below 4% for seven days.

Hospitalizations

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Maryland dropped by 9 in the last 24 hours.

• There currently are 944 people hospitalized — 698 in acute care and 246 in intensive care.

Mirroring National Trend, Maryland’s “Trump Counties” Are Slower to Get Vaccinated

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In a recently produced video circulating on social media, Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R-Md.) urges people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Joined by nine other Republican physician-legislators, Harris tells viewers that the development of safe and effective vaccines provides the country “a clear path to the eradication of the pandemic.”

“The FDA did not skip any steps,” he adds.

Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) said getting vaccinated will bring an end to “the government’s restrictions on our freedoms.”

Harris — a Trump loyalist and an anesthesiologist — has drawn praise for appearing in the video and for posting photos of himself administering vaccines at clinics in his district.

The video’s message comes at a crucial time. With polls consistently showing that as many as 40% of Republicans don’t intend to get a shot, public health experts across the country are worried that herd immunity is at risk.

A Maryland Matters analysis found vaccination patterns in the state that mirror the nation’s.

The six least-vaccinated jurisdictions in Maryland — and nine of the bottom 12 — were won by Donald Trump in 2020.

Of the three jurisdictions carried by Democrat Joe Biden that have below-average vaccination rates — Baltimore City and Prince George’s and Charles counties — all are majority-Black.

At the top end of the spectrum, six of the eight most-vaccinated counties in Maryland were won by Biden.

For purposes of this analysis, Maryland Matters counted every resident who has had at least one dose of any of the vaccines being offered.

There are many factors that determine who gets vaccinated who doesn’t, health experts caution. For months, access to the vaccine has been limited, though appointments now are plentiful.

Many vaccine-seekers lacked the ability to spend hours online, prowling the Web for an appointment, nor did they have the flexible schedules needed to get to a vaccination site. Access to transportation has been another challenge.

The Maryland Department of Health and the state’s Vaccine Equity Task Force have spent many weeks trying to overcome these and other barriers, expanding distribution sites, bringing vaccines into under-served communities, working with faith and community groups, tailoring messages, enlisting family physicians and “trusted voices,” and more.

While those efforts have boosted the state’s vaccination rate overall and closed some of the gaps that set off alarm bells during the early months of the rollout, data confirm that African-Americans and Republicans are less likely to be vaccinated than non-Black Democrats and members of other racial groups.

“A lot of it has to do with your political ideology and who you’re listening to, where you get your facts from, and who you trust,” said Ed Singer, Carroll County’s chief health officer and head of the Maryland Association of County Health Officers. “Let’s be honest about it.”

Singer said vaccination rates in minority communities have risen as people observe friends and family members getting vaccinated without complication.

“When they saw that it was fine [and] nobody was having issues with it, it really helped,” he said.

Rep. Harris’s press secretary did not respond to a request for comment submitted last week. But Joshua M. Sharfstein, Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, praised him for appearing in a pro-vaccination video.

“We shouldn’t overdo the politics of it in Maryland,” he said, “because we have a Republican governor and we have Republican legislators who are very supportive of vaccines.”

Vaccination advocates are fighting a daily battle against high-profile media personalities — Tucker Carlson of Fox and others — who have offered messaging that contradicts public-health guidance.

A focus group empaneled by pollster Frank Luntz found that GOP resistance to the vaccine remains entrenched, particularly among men.

Jerome Adams, a former U.S. surgeon general writing in his private capacity as a University of Virginia scholar, urged Trump to put his influence with the Republican base to good use.

“A lot of people who are reluctant to get the shot trust the former president,” Adams wrote last week in a Washington Post op-ed. “So I’m calling on him to loudly and proudly tell his supporters that he got vaccinated and they should too.”

True to form, the former president’s recent public statements have been about himself. Nonetheless, he could help drown out the noise from right-wing media if he chose to, analysts say.

“The effort to try to mark not getting vaccinated as a badge of honor is unwise and dangerous,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “But it’s still going on.”

“People don’t like being told what to do,” he acknowledged. “But modern collective life does not give a person the opportunity to be completely an island.”

The red-blue gap starts to widen

At the beginning of the vaccination campaign, Maryland counties that have more Republican voters outpaced Democratic-leaning counties narrowly, but the trend reversed in March.

(Editor’s Note: If viewing on mobile, turn phone 90 degrees to better view graphic.)

The Maryland Matters analysis also found that the gap between Democratic counties and Republican counties is growing.

For the seven-day period that ended April 30, the five counties with the highest percentage of registered Republicans saw their vaccination rate grow by an average of 0.27% per day.

By contrast, the five counties with the highest percentage of registered Democrats increased at a more robust rate of 0.44% per day.

If that trend persists, the red-blue divide will continue to widen.

It’s unclear why such strong pockets of resistance to the vaccine exist. Health experts who have studied the data on the vaccines’ effectiveness and relative lack of serious side effects don’t yet have firm answers.

“I think that there’s been a polarization around trust in government,” said Sharfstein, “so when they hear that this is something that can save their lives, they don’t necessarily believe that.”

The “Doc Caucus” video in which Rep. Harris appears doesn’t explicitly reference herd immunity, but lawmakers hint at it.

“I look forward to the freedom that I, along with my loved ones, will regain once the vast majority of Americans are vaccinated,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) says.

According to JHU’s Dr. Sharfstein, it’s too early to know whether the country’s ability to reach herd immunity status is being threatened by those who are refusing to get a shot.

Singer — the health chief in Carroll — remains optimistic, however, saying, “It just may take us longer to get there than what I would like.”

“The vaccine is available now and we can get there quickly — within a month or two, I think. But it may take three or four months because it’s going to take longer for some people to make the decision to get vaccinated.”

By Bruce DePuyt and Brenda Wintrode

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update May 3

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m., although some counties do not update on weekends. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Since Friday, Kent County recorded one additional death from COVID-19; cases increased by 6 to 1,318.

• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.85%.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 449,509, an increase of 520 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, 20 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 8,605.

• The state’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.69% (+0.05 from yesterday).

Vaccinations

• The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 45.96% of Marylanders and 44.84% of Kent County residents; second dose rates are 31.97% and 34.71% respectively.

• To pre-register for a vaccine appointment (including for the mass vaccination clinic at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury), visit www.marylandvax.org or covidvax.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

• State Vaccine Information Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine

• Vaccination Site Search: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/nearby/index.html?appid=0dbfb100676346ed9758be319ab3f40c

Positivity Rate

• The state’s 7-day average positivity has been below 5% for 10 days and below 4% for six days.

Hospitalizations

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Maryland dropped by 7 in the last 24 hours.

• There currently are 953 people hospitalized — 688 in acute care and 265 in intensive care.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update April 30

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m., although some counties do not update on weekends. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Kent County’s COVID-19 cases increased by 7 to 1,312.

• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 2.14%.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 447,401, an increase of 942 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, 25 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 8,555.

• The state’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.72% (-0.05 from yesterday).

Vaccinations

• The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 43.58% of Marylanders and 44.7% of Kent County residents; second dose rates are 29.74% and 33.69% respectively.

• To pre-register for a vaccine appointment (including for the mass vaccination clinic at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury), visit www.marylandvax.org or covidvax.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

• State Vaccine Information Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine

• Vaccination Site Search: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/nearby/index.html?appid=0dbfb100676346ed9758be319ab3f40c

Positivity Rate

• The state’s 7-day average positivity has been below 5% for seven days and below 4% for three days.

Hospitalizations

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Maryland dropped by 38 in the last 24 hours.

• There currently are 1,042 people hospitalized — 773 in acute care and 269 in intensive care.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update April 29

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m., although some counties do not update on weekends. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Kent County’s COVID-19 cases increased by 1 to 1,305.

• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 2.01%.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 446,459, an increase of 966 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, 9 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 8,530.

• The state’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.77% (-0.12 from yesterday).

Vaccinations

• The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 43.12% of Marylanders and 44.64% of Kent County residents; second dose rates are 29.08% and 33.42% respectively.

• To pre-register for a vaccine appointment (including for the mass vaccination clinic at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury), visit www.marylandvax.org or covidvax.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

• State Vaccine Information Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine

• Vaccination Site Search: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/nearby/index.html?appid=0dbfb100676346ed9758be319ab3f40c

Positivity Rate

• The state’s 7-day average positivity has been below 5% for six days and below 4% for two days.

Hospitalizations

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Maryland dropped by 13 in the last 24 hours.

• There currently are 1,080 people hospitalized — 813 in acute care and 267 in intensive care.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update April 28

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m., although some counties do not update on weekends. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Kent County’s COVID-19 cases remain at 1,304.

• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.89%.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 445,493, an increase of 1,002 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, 20 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 8,521.

• The state’s 7-day positivity rate is 3.89% (-0.15 from yesterday).

Vaccinations

• The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 42.71% of Marylanders and 44.07% of Kent County residents; second dose rates are 28.54% and 33.06% respectively.

• To pre-register for a vaccine appointment (including for the mass vaccination clinic at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury), visit covidvax.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

• State Vaccine Information Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine

• Vaccination Site Search: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/nearby/index.html?appid=0dbfb100676346ed9758be319ab3f40c

Positivity Rate

• The state’s 7-day average positivity has been below 5% for five days and dropped below 4% for the first time since March 16.

Hospitalizations

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Maryland dropped by 37 in the last 24 hours.

• There currently are 1,093 people hospitalized — 821 in acute care and 272 in intensive care.

Spy COVID-19 Daily Update April 27

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The Spy obtains information for the above chart between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m., although some counties do not update on weekends. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.

Key points for today

• Kent County’s COVID-19 cases increased by 3 to 1,304.

• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 2.32%.

• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 444,491, an increase of 677 in the last 24 hours.

• In the last 24 hours, 18 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 8,501.

• The state’s 7-day positivity rate is 4.04% (-0.47 from yesterday).

Vaccinations

• The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 42.3% of Marylanders and 43.82% of Kent County residents; second dose rates are 28.05% and 31.67% respectively.

• To pre-register for a vaccine appointment (including for the mass vaccination clinic at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury), visit covidvax.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).

• State Vaccine Information Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine

• Vaccination Site Search: https://maryland.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/nearby/index.html?appid=0dbfb100676346ed9758be319ab3f40c

Positivity Rate

• The state’s 7-day average positivity has been below 5% for four days.

Hospitalizations

• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Maryland increased by 15 in the last 24 hours.

• There currently are 1,130 people hospitalized — 861 in acute care and 269 in intensive care.