Residents of Sumter County who have received the COVID-19 vaccination are being urged to continue wearing face masks in public settings.
Dr. Sanford Zelnick, director of the Sumter County Health Department, offered the guidance in a memo issued Friday afternoon.
“Persons who are three to four weeks post second dose (or three to four weeks past their first dose if they received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine), should feel comfortable that they are protected. This said, I recommend that when in crowds or indoor activities, you continue to wear a face covering. I also recommend a face covering if traveling through airports, or other forms of mass transportation and at destinations where the vaccination coverage is less than the local situation here,” Zelnick said.
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He offered an additional word of caution for the vaccinated members of the public who travel.
“I recommend that upon return from travel, you should self-monitor for several days and not participate in civic or recreational activities if you are knowingly ill. Those who are ill with COVID-19-related symptoms should consider COVID-19 testing, regardless of their vaccination status,” he said.
Revised numbers increase COVID-19 death count in Sumter County
The Florida Department of Health recently reported an increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths in Sumter County from 242 to 257.
“This increase reflects an iterative and dynamic process of verifying and classifying deaths as COVID-19-related (or not) by the Sumter County Health Department and the Florida Department of Health’s central office in Tallahassee. As the circumstances surrounding an individual death become clear, previous deaths may be attributed to COVID-19 infection (and occasionally, vice versa). This verification/classification process takes time – from when someone unfortunately passes away to understanding the cause(s) of death and, in this context, reporting COVID-19 deaths to the public. The increase in deaths do not reflect a recent outbreak but rather, the processes just mentioned,” Zelnick said.
More than 64,000 people over the age of 65 have received a vaccination in Sumter County. The total population of over 65 adults in Sumter County is approximately 80,000 persons. “Therefore, we have an estimated vaccine coverage of 75-80 percent among this age group. While there is no standard definition to classify ‘herd immunity’ as concerns COVID-19 and this percentage varies depending on the infectiousness of the disease being referred to, this level of vaccine coverage concerning COVID-19 indicates substantial and significant coverage of our elders. Our hospitalization data is also improving, with a census of COVID-19 patients at both University of Florida Hospitals in the low thirties; a decrease of roughly 75 percent from the hospital census at the peak of the outbreak,” he said.
Zelnick acknowledged that many people would like to receive the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“Unfortunately, I do not know when or if the Sumter County Health Department will receive Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The Sumter County Health Department currently has the Moderna vaccine, which is also highly effective. I recommend that persons now eligible for vaccination receive a vaccine as soon as possible, as we still have COVID-19 cases occurring in Sumter County,” he said.
