The task force has advocated for expanded testing, coordinated vaccine clinics, and helped businesses and the public navigate a myriad of health guidelines.
UpdatedFri, Jun 4, 2021 at 2:04 pm ET
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(Caroline Eagen)
When the Cape Cod COVID-19 Response Task Force launched in early May 2020, the state was reporting upwards of 1,000 new cases of the coronavirus daily and the statewide positive test rate was in the teens and 20s.
On Thursday, during what the task force planned to be its last weekly media call, Sean O Brien of the Barnstable County Department of Health and the Environment said that the incidence of COVID-19 is now starting to dwindle down both on Cape Cod and across Massachusetts.
Just three people are hospitalized for COVID-19 at Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals, O Brien said, and on Wednesday the Department of Public Health reported a total of 100 new cases and a seven-day average positive test rate of 0.69 percent.
And yet as more vaccines are available than ever, uptake is slowing down.
Sean O’Brien, head of Barnstable County’s Department of Health and Environment, said the county is used to dispensing hundreds of vaccines but a recent county vaccination clinic drew only 25 pre-registered individuals and 25 walk-ins.
During a Thursday morning briefing by the Cape Cod COVID-19 Response Task Force, Cyr said he wants to see increased outreach to people of color, who have lower vaccination rates than white residents.
A weekly vaccination report published Thursday by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health shows that while 65% of white Barnstable County residents have received at least one shot, the percentage fell to 42% and 60% for Black and Hispanic Cape Codders.