The number of COVID-19 cases around the nation and here in Clarke County has been increasing in recent weeks. Dr. Erin Lip is a researcher at the University of Georgia. She has been studying virus levels in Clarke County wastewater for the past two years.
“But I think in this case what we’re seeing is the disconnect with seeing less testing, or less reporting of tests, especially as at-home testing has become more common,” Lipp said. “So we’re really seeing that pick up in waste water that we’re not necessarily seeing in the cases, but I think it tells us that we’ve got a real surge going on right now.”
Many health care professionals are still urging Americans to get fully vaccinated against the disease. Amy O' Reilly is a pharmacist and member of the American Pharmacists Association, which recommends vaccinations.
“Cases rise and fall with regularity around the world, which is why we highly recommend being vaccinated,” according to O’ Reilly. “It helps provide your best protection against any of the future variants.”
While symptoms seem milder with recent variants of COVID, O’ Reilly says the vaccines are still beneficial.
“Vaccinated people are 41 times less likely to die from COVID than unvaccinated people, so great evidence that they are very effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalizations and death.”
She says in addition to the effectiveness of the vaccines, the numbers also show the safety of the shots.
“We’ve given more than 577 million does in than US, so we can also say with great confidence that they are very safe.”
