Last week the CDC relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines. Our COVID medical advisors will meet on Tuesday, August 16, at 1:00 pm to discuss changes in New Garden’s COVID-related policies, in accordance with the new CDC guidance. Please reach out to Kat Rice or Janie Foy to provide input to the advisors’ discussion. Our COVID medical advisors will then propose their revised recommendations at our called Meeting for Business Sunday, 8/21/22, at 1 pm. Please join us for discussion of queries related to our COVID policies and discernment about our next steps.
This week in Guilford County, community level risk of COVID-19 transmission is HIGH with a stable number of cases reported to the NCHHS, hospitalizations slightly increased, and early warning indicators (like wastewater viral particle numbers) increased. The NC Health and Human Services Dashboard is updated weekly on Wednesdays. CDC.gov can also be used to access more information on what actions to take based on each county’s current level of community spread and what personal actions to take if you yourself have a positive test result.
Vaccines remain the best protection against serious COVID disease, hospitalization, and death. The CDC and FDA have approved the use of Moderna and Pfizer COVID vaccines for children in the 6-month to 5-year old age group. Patients should contact their pediatric providers to get information and to schedule vaccinations. The FDA and CDC have authorized the administration of a second COVID booster for those over age 50 and individuals 12 or older with an immuno-compromising condition. A first booster has been endorsed by the CDC for those in the 5-11 age group, as long as at least 5 months have passed since the primary series was completed. Use the CDC COVID -19 booster tool at the CDC.gov site to learn if and when you can get boosters to stay up to date with your COVID -19 vaccinations.