A more transmissible variant of the novel coronavirus is now widespread in Northeast Tennessee and is fueling new cases and hospitalizations across the region, Ballad Health officials said Wednesday.
âToday, I think weâre seeing that we do have a fair amount of spread (of the B.1.1.7 variant) in the region,â said Ballad Chief Operating Officer Eric Deaton. âB.1.1.7 has overtaken the original strain of COVID-19 in the region, and really now the B.1.1.7 strain is the dominant strain that weâre seeing.â
The B.1.1.7 variant was first identified in the United Kingdom last September, and is the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States.
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It was a brutal three months in Northeast Tennessee: Between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths soared to record highs, infecting more than 32,000 and killing 636.
Now, local health experts are cautiously optimistic weâve seen the worst of the pandemic â that after nearly a year of battling the virus, this is the beginning of the end.
Though the curve of new cases has fluctuated wildly from month to month over the past 11 months, this time feels different. Over the past seven weeks, the regionâs seven-day average of new cases has experience a steep and rapid decline â tumbling from 456.2 on Jan. 7 to 83.6 as of Saturday, bringing Northeast Tennessee more in line with averages reported in early October.
A line of cars wrapped around the Liberty Bell complex and Freedom Hall on Wednesday, carrying first responders who were eligible to receive some of the first doses of Modernaâs novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine in the region.
âWeâre going to keep vaccinating until we run out of vaccine,â said Dr. David Kirschke, the medical director of the Northeast Regional Health Office.
The drive-through event Wednesday served as the first round of vaccinations for first responders in Washington County.
Kirschke said the Health Department is primarily vaccinating first responders, who have top priority in the stateâs vaccination plan and appear in one of the earliest phases.
In the midst of a brutal surge in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infections thatâs marked Tennessee as the state with the nationâs worst outbreak, Tuesday was a welcome day of hope and joy for several of Washington Countyâs first responders and officials at the Northeast Regional Health Office.
Inside the health office, six first responders from five police, fire and EMS agencies in Washington County became some of the first in the region to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine â a âhistoric eventâ that local health officials have been preparing for for months.
âI am so pleased you are here to document some of the first COVID-19 vaccinations being given in our public health region,â said Regional Director Rebekah English. âWe are honored to share this historic event with you.â