CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Montgomery County has once again surpassed 1,000 active COVID-19 cases as the Delta variant continues to spread, and Tennova Healthcare in Clarksville is reportedly treating twice as many patients with the virus as they have for the last two months.
As of Wednesday, there were 1,221 active cases in Montgomery County. The last time there were over 1,000 active COVID-19 cases in the area was on Jan. 28, after cases spiked up to 2,000 in the middle of January.
This comes as cases nearly doubled in one week at the end of July, and since July 13, have skyrocketed from 81 to now past 1,000.
Case surge
Almost all the hospitalizations and deaths are among the unvaccinated, according to Montgomery County Health Department Director Joey Smith.
“Across the state and in Montgomery (County), over 90% of our hospitalizations are unvaccinated. Over 93% of our deaths in Tennessee are unvaccinated,” Smith said, adding that 50% of “breakthrough” cases in those who have been vaccinated are in people 65 and older.
In addition to the case surge, there’s also been a sizeable increase in the percentage of COVID-19 tests that come up positive.
While vaccination against COVID-19 remains the first line of defense, there is still some hesitancy in the area to get the shot. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control COVID Data Tracker, 58.3% of the county’s eligible population has received at least one dose.
“When you look at the vaccinations given by Fort Campbell and by partners in Tennessee, we still have over 75,000 citizens that are eligible for the vaccine that have not received their first dose,” Smith told Clarksville Now.
From this data, Smith told Clarksville Now that 80% of Montgomery County citizens 65 and older are fully vaccinated, but that this means there are still about 2,000 citizens over 65 that are not fully vaccinated.
According to Smith, in the 90 days before the first person was fully vaccinated, against COVID-19, there were 99 deaths caused by the virus in Montgomery County. For comparison, in the last 90 days, Montgomery County has had seven deaths, Smith said.
“Our community knocked the Alpha variant down for the count with only 40% of the total population being fully vaccinated. All of the variants are responsive to the vaccine. The evidence is clear … vaccinations have saved lives. It is the most effective tool in our toolbox,” Smith said.
Hospitalizations are up
According to data from Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville, the number of COVID-19 cases the hospital is treating in-patient are also up.
“Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville, like many hospitals in Tennessee, has seen an increase in the number of COVID-19 inpatients we are treating. In both June and July, our daily average was seven COVID positive inpatients, and we are currently caring for 19,” Sandy Wooten of Tennova said in a written statement to Clarksville Now on Wednesday.
On Thursday, that number increased to 22 COVID positive patients being treated either in the hospital’s COVID unit or in a COVID designated ICU room.
“Capacity changes throughout the day based on patient admissions and discharges and staffing. Currently, we have availability in our critical care units,” Wooten said.
“We remain focused on the health and safety of our patients and employees, following CDC guidance and using enhanced cleaning protocols. Our hospital is prepared to care for all patients who need medical attention and patients experiencing a medical emergency should seek care promptly,” she continued, adding that Tennova encourages everyone to get the COVID-19 vaccination.
COVID-19 vaccines are offered free at clinics and pharmacies across Montgomery County. Vaccination locations can be found by visiting www.vaccines.gov/search or by calling 1-800-232-0233. For more information, go to https://vaccinate.tn.gov/.