There was little to cheer about when Jackson-Madison County health, government and school officials held their weekly media briefing, Tuesday.
“We’ve seen an increase in school children really since the beginning of school starting Aug. 1,” Kim Tedford said, “Last week, I had reported that we had about 636 individuals between the ages of 5 and 18 test positive from Aug. 1 to Aug. 30.
“I looked back at that data … we’ve had an increase from the first of September through the sixth of 247 more school age children who have tested positive.
“That’s a total of 883, age 5 to 18 that have tested positive since Aug. 1.”
Kim Tedford, who said said Labor Day statistics will be available in the next two weeks, is the regional health director of the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department.
Amy Garner – West Tennessee Healthcare system vice president chief compliance & communications officer – said Jackson-Madison County Hospital is ‘definitely still seeing the impact being from those who have chosen not to get the vaccine.”
Garner said 538 patients are hospitalized.
” … 144 of those are COVID patients,” Garner said, “48 are in an ICU bed, and 36 of those patients are on a ventilator. Of the 48, four have been fully vaccinated and of the ones on ventilators, three are fully vaccinated.”
(PHOTO: Amy Garner)
