Updated Jan. 11
The number of new COVID-19 cases have reached all time heights since the start of 2022 with 490 cases reported between Jan. 1 and Jan. 8.
Of the 490 cases, 267 were reported from the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, 39 from TestMV, 37 from other providers, and 147 from at-home tests.
There are 269 cases being followed by public health officials and 231 that are not. Of the new cases there are 183 symptomatic cases, 31 with no symptoms, and 276 with an unknown symptom status. Among the new cases are 184 vaccinated individuals, 16 partially vaccinated, 40 unvaccinated, and 250 with an unknown vaccination status.
The majority of new cases were teenagers with 81 cases. There were 59 cases under the age of 10, 76 in their 20s, 68 in their 30s, 65 in their 40s, 70 in their 50s, 44 in their 60s, 26 over 70, and three with unknown age.
Additionally 130 cases have been reported this week — 56 on Sunday and 74 on Monday.
The hospital reported four COVID positive hospitalizations Monday. Two of the patients are in good condition and two are in fair condition, according to hospital communications specialist Marissa Lefebvre.
The hospitalizations come as COVID cases are reaching new highs on Martha’s Vineyard with 419 new confirmed cases reported since the beginning of the year. As of late afternoon, the Island boards of health had not yet issued their detailed weekly report, but reports through Friday showed the increase.
Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools saw a large number of positive cases since Dec. 23. The high school reported 45 students and three staff positives, while the Island’s five other schools reported a combined 66 students and 17 staff positives.
The drastic rise in cases has even closed down the Martha’s Vineyard Boys and Girls Club and the West Tisbury library. On Monday, the library issued an email blast informing patrons.
“In response to library staff members testing positive for COVID-19, the library building will be closed to the public Monday, January 10th, through at least Wednesday, January 12th,” the aler states. “We will offering curbside services and virtual programs only during these [times]. In-person programs are canceled this week.”
There were 95 cases reported on Friday, 85 on Thursday, 48 on Wednesday, 101 on Tuesday, 28 on Monday, 36 on Sunday, and 26 on Saturday.
COVID cases began to rise drastically at the beginning of December reaching all time weekly highs. This week is already set to be the highest weekly total of cases reported since the start of the pandemic.
By comparison, as 2020 and the first nine months of the pandemic came to a close, the Island had reported a total of 535 cases between March 2020 and December 2020.
In an email to The Times Tisbury health agent and boards of health spokesperson Maura Valley said the health agents speak daily and meet weekly, but no joint boards of health meeting has been scheduled. She said most towns will have meetings scheduled next week.
“There is definite concern over the large number of cases and our ability to reach out to them all. Our contact tracers have been sending text and email messages to individual cases as a way of letting them know the appropriate protocols,” Valley said. “While they attempt to reach as many positive cases as possible, they prioritize making contact with parents of positive young and school-aged children, elderly cases and those with known high risk of complications from the virus.”
When the indoor mask mandate was extended, health officials said it would be reevaluated in January.
This all comes as the boards of health are counting those who test positive with at-home test kits and as the demand for home test kits skyrockets. The Island received thousands of them through a federal program earlier this week and they were distributed within hours.
Out of an abundance of caution and due to the rise in cases, the Martha’s Vineyard Boys and Girls Club closed down its facilities on Thursday and will not reopen until Jan. 18.
“As a community, we strive to ensure the absolute safety of members and staff and do not make this decision lightly. We understand the club’s critical role in supporting its members and families and will provide ongoing status updates throughout next week via Remind, email, and our website,” the club wrote in a Facebook post.
Additionally families who rely on the club’s Grab n’ Go meal program can send an email to club@mvbgclub.org for food assistance.
Not good!
Not good!
How many in hospital?
Meanwhile, nationwide covid cases are triple what they were a year ago while death rates are 1/3. Covid is weakening, which is how pandemics end. Can we please trade pearl clutching for a more rational perspective? The worst is behind us.
Hopefully but we could end up with another variant.
How do we know the worst is behind us? Can you see into the future? Do you know what future variants will look like?
Nothing is certain except death and taxes, the next variant could be worse or milder, or a meteor could strike earth. Part of being levelheaded and rational is living with uncertainty.
Alex–yes, cases are triple what they were a year ago, and the death rate is 1/2 (not 1/3).
I wonder if you realize that covid does not cause instantaneous death ? It takes a few weeks if not months from diagnosis to death. About 2 % of cases with an outcome ( either die or recover) have died. Given the very high infection rates , there will be a rise in the number of deaths in the coming months.
I am curious about your assertion that pandemics end when the virus gets weaker.
It’s possible that is happening, but it is inevitable that this virus will mutate again, and there is no guarantee that the next variant will be weaker.
I personally think the lower death rate is due to people who are actively engaged in “pearl clutching” and who have enough sense to get the vaccine.
The great majority of deaths ( about 95%) are among unvaccinated maga hat clutchers and people who put their faith in some sort of omnipotent being that refuses to just end the pandemic and spare the suffering.. You can choose to not believe the facts, but that does not change them.
I would also be interested in hearing some specifics about what you think “a more rational perspective” would be.
And as far as your assertion that the worst is over, I’m not going to clutch that little pearl of hope even for a second. We have been hearing from you and your ilk that this is over for months. The almighty Sean Hannity even guaranteed –yes– guaranteed– that we would not hear a word about this virus after election day of 2020. It’s all a hoax, remember ?
When I read comments like yours, I am reminded of the Black knight in the Monty Python movie. I find it humorous.. Of course some here will find it too violent.
But it really does point out what denial is about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmInkxbvlCs
And while I am providing some entertainment here, I might as well point out the best video I have ever seen describing the way the magamob thinks..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5iMhHCGuOI
And forgive me if I go off topic a bit, but when is the pillow guy going to show us the “100% irrefutable proof” he has about how the election was stolen ?
Where is the “like” button?
Don, I do not appreciate that you lump me in with people who I have nothing to do with, a.k.a. Trump voters, anti-VAX people, etc. I did not vote for Trump in either election and I am fully vaccinated and boosted. I think people who refuse to get vaccinated are making a very poor health decision and I have little sympathy for them when they get sick and die. It is Darwinism at its most basic. The recorded history of pandemics has followed a pattern of pathogens eventually weakening until they become part of the backdrop of general illness. I have read several articles by very well credentialed and sensible scientists who predict this will be the eventual outcome of the coronavirus. I believe the people like yourself had this misguided view that if we all act virtuous and do as we’re told, the virus will disappear. This is unrealistic and unscientific. Sensible mitigation efforts like masks, social distancing, vaccinations, makes sense when called for but when excessive fear mongering takes hold where people are led to believe that if they get the virus they are doomed to death or incapacitation, that does no one any service. I know people in our community who have gotten Covid and not one of them has died or been decimated. They have all recovered and gotten on with their lives, something the paranoia crowd seems to show very little interest in.
Alex–yes, cases are triple what they were a year ago, and the death rate is 1/2 (not 1/3).
I wonder if you realize that covid does not cause instantaneous death ? It takes a few weeks if not months from diagnosis to death. About 2 % of cases with an outcome ( either die or recover) have died. Given the very high infection rates , there will be a rise in the number of deaths in the coming months.
I am curious about your assertion that pandemics end when the virus gets weaker.
It’s possible that is happening, but it is inevitable that this virus will mutate again, and there is no guarantee that the next variant will be weaker.
I personally think the lower death rate is due to people who are actively engaged in “pearl clutching” and who have enough sense to get the vaccine.
The great majority of deaths ( about 95%) are among unvaccinated maga hat clutchers and people who put their faith in some sort of omnipotent being that refuses to just end the pandemic and spare the suffering.. You can choose to not believe the facts, but that does not change them.
I would also be interested in hearing some specifics about what you think “a more rational perspective” would be.
And as far as your assertion that the worst is over, I’m not going to clutch that little pearl of hope for even a second. We have been hearing from you and your ilk that this is over for months. The almighty Sean Hannity even guaranteed –yes– guaranteed– that we would not hear a word about this virus after election day of 2020. It’s all a hoax, remember ?
When I read comments like yours, I am reminded of the Black knight in the Monty Python movie. I find it humorous.. Of course some here will find it too violent.
But it really does point out what denial is about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmInkxbvlCs
And while I am providing some entertainment here, I might as well point out the best video I have ever seen describing the way the magamob thinks..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5iMhHCGuOI
And forgive me if I go off topic a bit, but when is the pillow guy going to show us the proof he has about how the election was stolen ?
Not if it is a loved one who died.
Now clutch your pearls, get vaccinated, and wear a mask.
That is how you stop Covid.
Alex, I want to make sure that I have this right.
The same number of people are dying of Covid but three times more are getting sick.
By those numbers things are getting worse.
Keep a tight grip on your pearls.
Albert, the day I posted that statement, coronavirus infections we’re triple what they were a year ago while deaths were 1/3. 750,000 cases and 1200 deaths vs. 250,000 cases and 3200 deaths. To clarify the math for you, 1200 is not equal to 3200
Hmmm…3 x 1/3 means deaths from COVID have not decreased.
3200 a day to 1200 a day is a decrease.
Alex, many don’t want to let go of this. Our govt doesn’t want to because it helps distract from their failures. Some are naturally fearful but most are getting on with their lives.
Andy our government told us over a year and a half ago that, like magic, that Covid would just disappear right after the landslide election.
There was no magic, just a clown show.
Alex: From the CDC’s webpage, 289 died in Massachusetts the past 7 days. A better perspective?
As has been pointed out on countless occasions, deaths are not the only aspect we need to be concerned about. (Although 838,000 people in one country should be considered horrific enough to take action.) Many end up with long COVID. It can interfere with their quality of life. For all the times it’s been mentioned, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it acknowledged by skeptics. They ignore it. They gloss over this factor like it’s nothing. When a percentage of the population ends up with chronic issues that can impact their ability to work and live the same as pre-COVID, it’s definitely something.
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/returning-to-work-millions-in-uncharted-waters-due-to-long-haul-covid-19
https://time.com/6133419/should-i-try-to-get-omicron/?amp=true
close to 400 people die a month from car accidents in mass…should we stop driving ???
No. We should drive more carefully and reduce the death rate to the best of our ability. Don’t drive while high, sleepy, distracted, or texting. Stick to driving when fully sober. Pay better attention. Follow the rules of the road. Not every accident can be avoided, but many can.
Same with COVID. Go on with life while taking basic precautions.
Brian– we are aware of those kinds of statistics. We. as a society try to do something about it. We have speed limits, lines in the roads, drunk driving laws, licensing requirements , safety inspections of our vehicles and thousands of common sense “rules of the road” .Our roads are built to safety standards at great expense, and we employ a large force of people to enforce those rules.
When it comes to covid– what do we do ?
Mostly we suffer the whining’s of fools who spin crazy conspiracy theories about everything from computer chips in our brains so the government can “control us” ( whatever that means) to the crazy idea that no one is actually dying, and the hospitals are just making money somehow.
Brian, if we actually did even 5 % of what is common sense preventative measures, we would reduce this plague to the annals of history.
Your numbers are way off and I would like to add a few comments. There are about 335 motor vehicle accident deaths/year in Massachusetts. Seat belts are required for driving. If you don’t wear a seat belt, the chance of dying in a car accident is about 14 x higher than if you wear a seat belt. The rate of dying from Covid in the unvaccinated is 14 x the rate in vaccinated people. Do you understand?
400 a month? You sure about that?
Auto accidents aren’t a pandemic. Pathetic argument, just pathetic.
Sorry Jim, didn’t mead to direct at you. Should have been reply to Brian.
You make an excellent case for vaccine and mask mandates without understanding what you’re talking about. (You also pulled your wrong numbers out of a hat, brian.) Imagine how many MORE driving deaths there would be without speed limits, seat belts, drunk driving laws, car safety inspections, driver’s licenses, and no texting laws. No, we don’t need to give up driving, but we do need to take the responsible actions and precautions seriously so that we don’t kill others with our stupid and selfish behaviors… like holding an enourmous gathering in the middle of a pandemic with unenforced mask mandates and no vaccine mandate. Recklessness that threatens others’ lives should be punished by law because people make up all kinds of excuses to do the reckless, self-serving thing. Our laws make us pay the price when we ignore the health and safety of others on the road. Is obeying 40 mph on State Road in Chilmark an imposition on our freedoms? Expecting people to do the right thing, the safe thing, without imposing penaties if they don’t, is not rational, as all the “freedumb” antivaxers and anti maskers prove everyday. Getting vaxed if eligible and wearing masks in public should have been mandated and strictly enforced much earlier, before the delta variant hit, and certainly before omicron. We’ve had other vaccine mandates all our lives. Had we mandated covid vaccines all across the board and much earlier, we would not be in this situation now, with more hospitalizations of covid patients today than at any time earlier in the pandemic. The “if-you’re-scared-stay-home” mantra killed, hospitalized and gave long covid and early death within a year after recovery to a lot of people. With the rise in hospitalizations today, the rise in deaths will follow, especially for our youngest and oldest and sickest. If anyone thinks this is over, especially for the unvaxed and immune compromised, think again. When a healthy person who will likely survive covid doesn’t care about anything but his own interests, we get these illogical questions about giving up driving. This illogic (no logic) is why this country has done such a terrible job of dealing with the pandemic. People were too selfish and too ignorantly in denial to do what they should have from the start. All the conservative Republicans have been screaming that covid is over for a long time now/or “people want it to continue” even though “it’s over”)– Why not instead encourage masks and vaccines? Not part of the partisan spiel? A killer disease is just politics as usual for far too many.
It remains true that the majority of covid deaths are among the unvaxed, despite all the deathbed pleas to get vaxed from the antivaxers who realized their deadly mistate too late.
I wonder how many more it would be if there were no seatbelt laws?
No, we should reduce deaths from driving.
Wear masks and be polite.
Brian– I am not sure that you have ever commented here before. If so, I missed it, or you comment on topics I have not followed.
As a long time frequenter here, please let me give you some respectful advice.
More people are watching this forum than we may realize.
When I read your comment about the number of deaths on Mass roadways, I replied with some of the reasons I thought your comment was not an analogy that I thought relevant.
It was just my opinion.
Judging from the replies of others here I was not alone.
But, regardless of what I or others here think about your opinion — and thank you for expressing it– you are not entitled to your own set of facts.
And that is where I will offer the advice…
Make sure your facts are at least somewhere near accurate.
It is not difficult to look up real numbers with sites like google…
A simple search ” death by auto in Massachusetts” brings a long list of Federal, state, insurance company statistics etc, in about 1 nanosecond.
In this case, virtually all the results indicate about 350 deaths per YEAR occur on Mass. roadways.
https://www.google.com/search?q=death+by+auto+in+massachusetts&ei=NaHbYb2fF_SjptQP8Yu3sAI&oq=death+by+auto+in+massachusettes&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIECCEQCjoHCAAQRxCwA0oECEEYAEoFCEASATFKBAhGGABQkQtY4w9gu6EBaAFwAXgAgAFCiAGzAZIBATOYAQCgAQHIAQjAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz
We all make mistakes — I have certainly made my share of them over the years.. Opinions are one thing, and we all have one.. but facts are another thing. Use them with care..
Respect
👍🏻
The volume of verbiage produced by commenters on this subject is truly startling.
Always the same self-anointed experts spooling out repetitious pearls of wisdom, and outrage that American citizens make their own medical choices regarding the injection of synthetic spike proteins into their blood streams.
It is now clear from CDC and other data that the jabs do not stop either infection or transmission.
https://principia-scientific.com/lancet-89-of-new-uk-covid-cases-among-fully-vaxxed/
Also, that viral loads among the jabbed and unjabbed are about the same.
Also that certain batches of the jabs have led to the majority of the thousands of adverse reactions logged on the VAERS system.
BTW, infection, aka “case numbers,” does not = disease.
Emerging data indicate that the jabs are rapidly losing efficacy:
https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/has-covid-vaccine-efficacy-turned
It’s really past time to come back down to earth regarding covid, before our economy is totally wrecked via disrupted supply lines and the destruction of small businesses, and our elected and unelected officials start contemplating vaxxpasses and digital IDs.
Mr Berenson omitted an ingredient, he left out the human factor. You do that, too.
Katherine — I looked at your links and saw the article about the statistics from the Uk which showed that “Vaccinated people under 60 are twice as likely to die as unvaccinated people.”
This type of statistical analysis is referred to as a “Simpsons paradox ”
It was easy to find an explanation for what you have bought into as an actual “fact”
If you really want to come back down to earth regarding covid, I suggest that you read what the “study” you refereed to is actually about.
It is a deliberate manipulation of factual data to mislead people such as yourself.
“The report includes a dataset of the weekly number of deaths from all causes. It also includes the COVID-19 vaccination status of each person who died (see Table 4, here).
Looking specifically at the 10-59 age bracket, Berenson concluded: “Vaccinated people under 60 are twice as likely to die as unvaccinated people … I don’t know how to explain this other than vaccine-caused mortality.””
Note the phrase ” all causes” and then the conclusion.
And then– watch the video I posted above which I will conveniently post again here since it is so appropriate.
Be careful, Katherine, there are people out there who are intentionally trying to deceive us.
Here is the link explaining why the link you posted is deceiving…
https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-coronavirus-britain/fact-check-englands-death-data-does-not-show-vaccine-caused-mortality-idUSL1N2SN1P4
In 1980, the World Health Assembly declared smallpox eradicated (eliminated), and no cases of naturally occurring smallpox have happened since.
We have people willing to try and people who aren’t. Are humans worth saving?
“It’s really past time to come back down to earth regarding covid, before our economy is totally wrecked”
Exactly. Please take your own advice. Millions of Americans already have long COVID. Fueling this problem by exposing each other to disease is a recipe for economic disaster. A healthy, thriving workforce is important. Someone has to actually run those small businesses and keep those supplies moving.
To encourage what looks like an irrational fear of the covid vaccine, Katherine Scott linked Principia-scientic.com. This is a UK fringe internet site that is anti-vax,
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/principia-scientific-international/ This website finding was updated Jan. 5, 2022. It says the site is strong in conspiracy theory and pseudo-science.
Katherine also posted a link to Alex Berenson. He is disgraced and discredited author/reporter.
“In a crowded field of wrongness, one person stands out: Alex Berenson.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/pandemics-wrongest-man/618475/
The reason why it is so hard to find any reliable source that would discourage getting vaccinated or discredit the safety and efficacy of vaccines– and the medical experts and science that recommend and advise them– is because there are none to be found. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Any antivax link that any person posts here can be easily discredited.
The Atlantic article mentioned is from April. Since that time much of what Berenson said became true. Below is one Atlantic claim.
”Berenson’s claim: In country after country, “cases rise after vaccination campaigns begin,” he wrote in an email.”. Atlantic disagreed with that claim but we are seeing it now. I get my Science from Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins who often disagrees with Fauci.
The more some of you folks politicize the Virus, the more people will not vaccinate. Dont know why you dont see that. Many people do not trust the CDC or Fauci and have been given misinformation for two years. They also see vaccinated get Covid and understand the risk based upon statistics. I think people should vaccinate but the climate being fostered by some of you on the left gives people reason not to.
Andy– so you are saying that the more true and accurate information you give someone, the less likely they are to believe it ?
So just let me ask you which side you think is politicizing this ?
Keller if you believe true and accurate information has been given by the CDC over the last two years you are among a minority. Both sides are railing about the vaccine. Liberals on mandates and Conservatives on freedom but our government is putting confusing and contradicting information and the left believes it. Please refrain from the excuse that information is evolving, this somehow insulating the CDC.
Andy– I believe the cdc has been giving us honest information based on what they know.
I never believed trump was giving us accurate information. Who believed all of his garbage ? Not the liberals, buddy.
Specifically when trump said the 15 cases we had would all miraculously disappear who believed that? Who was certain we would never get close to 1,000 deaths ?
Did the CDC ever recommend taking unapproved quack drugs ?
Did the CDC recommend injecting disinfectants ?
Did the CDC recommend Shining flashlights into the lungs ?
Did the CDC say the vaccine came with a microchip to control us ?
Did the CDC say it would alter your DNA ?
Say it was 100 % effective ?
Tell us there would never be any variants?
Tell us it was a hoax to influence the election ?
Come on Andy– I can see why some people are confused, but it’s not because of misinformation from the CDC .
Do you actually think that we had all the information we needed on day one of this pandemic ? Do you really think we are not learning anything and that information is not evolving ?
You believed the CDC and your friend, Dr Fauci, enough to brag on these pages that you were able to get yourself vaccinated in Florida— before grocery clerks got theirs. If you didn’t trust the basic and accurate and true message from the CDC on vaccines and masks, you wouldn’t follow the advice. But you did. You know, despite your politics, that the health organizations and experts are not political and have our health and safety at heart. That’s why you were among the first to get vaxed. Yes, isolation time and testing advice changes. Material of our masks changes too. I’m sorry if you can’t deal with the fluidity of a pandemic and these variants and exploding new cases, but glad you believe and trust in the truth and accuracy of tge CDC’s and Fauci’s advice about vaccines and masks anyway.
We ask Republicans get vaccinated but GOP leadership has been politicizing science and medicine. I could describe how but that’s not the point. Urge everyone you know to get the shots and we’ll throw political brickbats at each other another day. Thank you.
Andrew has an excellent point. I myself, am vaccinated AND boosted yet I still got Omicron. People who are on the fence already will see this and say “hey what’s even the point if I can get it and still spread it”.
Stop forcing mandates and let people decide for themselves. I’m all for vaccination and not for mandating. Let people choose. The more and more certain people here push for mandates, the more and more others will pull away.
The point is that being vaccinated means you’re less likely to become seriously ill, require hospitalization, or die, Jason. I would hope most people count not dying pretty high up on their priority list.
This helps the group at large by keeping beds open and relieving some of the enormous burden on medical (and mortuary) workers. That way, those who do get seriously ill can be treated and those who need treatment for something other than COVID won’t end up slipping through the cracks. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the media or various politicians, always look to the hospitals and excess deaths for understanding of how serious this still is. Many are swamped. They’ve been begging people to take the shot not out of a sense of control but because it’s unmanageable.
Jason– sorry to hear that you got Omicron.
I assume you didn’t die.
If you didn’t require hospitalization, thank you for getting vaccinated and taking the burden off caring for you off of the shoulders of the hospital staff.
I don’t think we can get to a point where we have zero cases– that is an obviously unrealistic goal. As far as I can tell, that goal only exists in the twisted heads of some deranged individuals who claim that some people think it will happen if we just wear masks. That is a lie…
But your case is a good anecdotal tale. You got the vaccine, you got boosted, you got covid, and you had the same symptoms as “a little flu” .
Not bad I would say. I have not heard any reputable health officials who know anything about viruses and vaccines state that this is 100 % effective.
So it appears we have the technology to turn the most lethal disease of the last 100 years into “a little flu” . If we did that, I think most of the deniers would point to it and be all proud and puffy that they were right all along.. Just a little flu. Isn’t being able to “prove” the liberals wrong incentive enough to get the jab ?
Omicron is a mutation that might not have occurred if there had been sufficient support for initial masking and distancing rules. Fewer cases would likely result in fewer spores managing to stay airborne far enough to find a new host. Mask and distancing rules were eliminated too soon, giving spores with the durability to travel and ability to mutate to continue Covid-19.
A guarantee strain severity will lessen? Already reports Omicron has merged with Delta; going to dismiss because being cautious is inconvenient?
Katherine.
Your comments are based on a reporter and an author? No politicizing there. You’re obviously on the right. Great for selling books and incorporating new theories. No scientists I have read said vaccines were a cure. They are doing what they said they would. And the economy? As always the rich get richer. Good Luck. But Trump did say get vaccinated right?
So, the unvaccinated get sick, sick enough to go to the hospital, and want to have every type of medicine possible injected into them, to help them to live, or to at least get better and go home. Medicine and treatments that they know nothing about – medicines that were created in a lab by some unknown scientists. For instance, a monoclonal antibody is an antibody made in a lab by cloning a unique white blood cell. You don’t want to get vaccinated?? Then stay home when you get sick and take care of yourself. Don’t take up the resources of a hospital and its staff, run up health care costs, or take any medicine that might help you.
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