Island hospital reports increase in COVID-19 cases

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In case you forgot about these: face masks. —MV Times

Some Island officials are starting to wear masks again and some events have been canceled due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Martha’s Vineyard Hospital officials are reporting that the number of cases has grown by the dozens since the winter.

“Those testing positive for COVID at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital have climbed from 0 positive test results in March, to 14 in April, to 23 in May,” said Claire Seguin, Chief Nurse and Vice President of Operations at the hospital. “The number of positive test results rose to 40 in June, and so far in July, there have been 22 positive test results for COVID,“ Seguin added.

The uptick coincides with the new “FLiRT” variants of COVID becoming more common nationwide. The name “FLiRT” refers to changes in the spike proteins that bind the virus to the cells of those infected.

In March, over half of COVID cases in the U.S. were caused by the JN.1 FLiRT variant, while four percent of cases were caused by the KP.2 FLiRT variant. In May, however, KP.2 accounted for 28 percent of COVID cases nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

These new variants mean that people who were last vaccinated or infected more than six months ago may be less protected and more likely to contract a typical COVID case, Dr. Matthew Binnicker of the Mayo Clinic said in May.

“The prevalence of these variants comes at a critical time, when experts are deciding how to formulate the fall COVID vaccine,” the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health stated that same month.

The office of the Chilmark board of health referred The Times to the hospital.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Interesting as to why Biden isn’t wearing a mask or the people around him. WH says vaxed and boosted yet this is his third time getting covid. Isn’t this the guy who said he beat Covid or meant to say he beat covid? Sorry, I can’t keep up with his lies or what the media calls his gaffs.

  2. Let’s get ahead of it this time. Shut down the island NOW. Mask mandates! Social distancing! Poisonous vaccines!

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