The Three Rivers Health District is now offering COVID-19 vaccine clinics for children ages 6 months to 5 years old.
According to a release from the Three Rivers Health District, anyone interested in having their child vaccinated should contact their local health department for available times and scheduling information.
The only clinics being held locally this week is at the Gloucester County Health Department on Friday. Call 804-693-2445 to make an appointment. The next local clinic will be held on Monday, Aug. 15 at the Mathews County Health Department. That number is 804-725-7131.
According to the weekly report by Dr. Richard Williams, medical director of the Three Rivers Health District, Covid cases have remained mostly stable across the U.S. over the past week, with about 123,500 cases recorded daily on average.
Virginia cases decreased slightly during the week, with a seven-day average of around 2,969 cases per day.
By the criteria established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Gloucester and Mathews community COVID-19 levels remained low over the week, while the Middlesex level was medium as of Wednesday morning. Other Three Rivers localities were medium, as well, except for Lancaster, King and Queen, and King William, which all had high levels as of Wednesday.
The average number of Virginians being hospitalized for Covid rose during the week, with around 770 people in hospitals with the illness daily.
Local cases, hospitalizations, deaths
As of Wednesday morning, 8,177 cases of COVID-19 had been recorded among Gloucester residents, 92 of them between last Wednesday, July 27, and this Wednesday. One hospitalization and one death from Covid were recorded in Gloucester during the past week, for a total of 117 hospitalization and 107 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Mathews had 10 new cases recorded during the past week, for a total of 1,678 since the pandemic began, while 41 residents have been hospitalized over the past 2½ years, and 27 have died, none during the past week.
In Middlesex, 33 new cases were recorded between last Wednesday and this Wednesday, for a total of 2,111, while 55 people have been hospitalized and 48 have died, but none during the past week.
Monkeypox
There have been 76 cases of monkeypox in Virginia, more than 5,000 cases nationwide, and 22,000+ cases worldwide since a public health emergency of international concern was declared several weeks ago by the World Health Organization. As of Monday, no cases had been recorded in the Three Rivers Health District, according to Dr. Williams’s weekly report.
Monkeypox is a contagious rash viral illness that’s similar to smallpox but is less contagious and causing less serious disease, said the report. It is also less contagious than COVID-19.
Anyone can become infected with monkeypox by coming into contact with an infected animal or human or with materials that have been contaminated with the virus. Infection requires direct contact with sores, body fluids, or large respiratory droplets.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, chills and lymph node enlargement, with a rash appearing after a few days that progresses to pox lesions. People who are infected can be contagious up to four weeks, from the time flu-like symptoms begin until all skin lesions have healed. Anyone suspecting they’re infected should seek healthcare for testing and stay home, avoiding contact with other people and pets and keeping objects they touch isolated from others. They should also wear a mask when around other people and pets and wash their hands frequently.
Vaccines are available for monkeypox, with the Jynneos vaccine, made from a non-replicating virus, available in the Three Rivers Health District. The vaccine is recommended for people with known exposure to monkeypox and people who have certain risk factors, currently based on sexual orientation and the number of sex partners. People with HIV or other immune conditions who have these risk factors are at particularly high risk.
An antiviral medication, TPOXX, is available to treat people with monkeypox.