FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COVID-19 Information Contacts
January 6, 2021 Public Information Line: 828-764-9150
COVID-19 Burke County Media Briefing Website: www.burkenc.org/COVID-19
Burke County’s Response to COVID-19
• Burke County is currently at 6914 positive cases. These are cumulative cases for the county. If you want to see a breakdown of the cases, please go visit the https://www.burkenc.org/dashboard webpage
• Para español llame al 764-9150 y presione el número dos. Si nadie contesta deje un corto mensaje con su nombre y numero de teléfono.
The numbers have increased so much due to the back log of cases being reported from outside testing sites including new testing sites and cases reported through the State Electronic Disease Surveillance System. The case increases are also due to the increased testing encouraged by the State over the last several weeks.
The health department is experiencing a large call and email volume and staff is trying to answer and return calls and emails as quickly as possible. If you left a voicemail or sent an email, you will get a response as soon as possible.
For your information: Both vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, require individuals to receive two shots. Pfizer will be two shots given 28 days apart and Moderna will be two shots given 21 days apart and you have to get both shots to get the maximum protection.
As of December 30, the COVID vaccination prioritization changed. As soon as additional COVID-19 vaccine is available and all of the eligible people in Phase 1A are vaccinated, the Burke County Vaccination Team will begin to vaccinate the next group of individuals. We have received limited amounts of the vaccine to date. We will be pushing out information about the next group of vaccinations as soon as Phase 1A is finished and we receive additional vaccine.
When we move to the next phase of vaccinations, we will push out information throughout the county through public service announcements, social media posts, employers, etc to notify those eligible who to contact and how to register for an appointment. We hope to be able to move into the next phase within the next two weeks.
We appreciate your patience as we try to vaccinate those eligible and interested as fast as possible.
As of December 30, the COVID vaccination prioritization schedule changed to the groups below and we will be following these groups for vaccination not by households. So, if members of a household fall into different vaccination groups, you will be registered by your groups, not necessarily by your household members.
You find more information about the State’s COVID-19 vaccination schedule and COVID-19 vaccination scheduling for Phase 1B-Group 1 please visit the Burke County COVID-19 webpage at www.burkenc.org/COVID-19
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