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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Marion County reports drop in COVID-19 cases, vaccinations

Marion County health officials are reporting a small drop in weekly COVID-19 cases.

According to the Florida Department of Health, the COVID-19 weekly report for Friday, December 3, to Thursday, December 9 shows a decrease in the number of cases and vaccinations.

During the week, the county reported 146 positive COVID-19 cases, an average of nearly 21 new cases each day. The previous week (November 26 to December 2) saw 165 positive cases.

Mark Lander, Department of Health in Marion County Administrator, said “This latest report is very welcome news after the uptick we experienced last week.”

Vaccines were administered to 1,145 residents, a decrease of 213 from the previous week. This marks the first week in over a month that the total number of vaccinations went down.

The report shows that around 61% of eligible residents, or 214,563, are currently vaccinated in Marion County. All residents ages 5 and older are considered eligible.

“Our community has done a really good job over the past few weeks in working to control the spread of the virus. We encourage people to maintain those best practices, including considering getting a vaccine or a booster, if they have not already done so,” Lander said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for all adults (ages 18 and older) to get a booster shot either six months after the initial Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna series or two months after their initial Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

The omicron variant was detected in the United States on Wednesday, December 1. According to Lander, the CDC remains the primary agency responsible for maintaining surveillance of omicron, and the Department of Health in Marion County will respond to the variant as needed with mitigation efforts that include both prevention and treatment.

For more information on last week’s COVID-19 figures, visit the Florida Department of Health COVID-19 website.