Greenwich Residents Urged To Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19

GREENWICH, CT — First Selectman Fred Camillo and Greenwich Hospital President Diane Kelly held their bi-weekly COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday afternoon, and they urged residents to get vaccinated if they haven't done so already.

Camillo also told residents not to panic about the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which was identified at the Greenwich Hospital COVID-19 testing site on Tuesday morning.

Two cases were discovered in people who live in Fairfield and Westchester Counties, Kelly said. One person was asymptomatic, and the other showed mild symptoms. Both were vaccinated, although it's unclear if they received booster shots.

On Wednesday, Pfizer and BioNTech said their COVID-19 vaccine booster neutralizes the omicron variant, while two-shots "show significantly reduced neutralization titers."

More specifically, the booster shot "increases the neutralizing antibody titers by 25-fold compared to two doses."

But health experts are still trying to determine if omicron is more transmissible and if it causes more severe illness than previous coronavirus variants.

"Before we jump to conclusions on everything, don't panic and certainly don't alter your lives. Continue to be safe, carry a mask whenever you need it, and we'll get through it," Camillo said of the omicron variant and a recent uptick in cases. "I think we may have these different variants coming, and you certainly don't want to upend your life every time something like this pops up."

The Latest COVID-19 Numbers

According to the latest numbers, there have now been 6,222 COVID-19 cases in Greenwich since the pandemic began. Since Nov. 30, there have been 98 cases reported. There are currently 98 active cases being tracked by the Greenwich Health Department.

The death toll from COVID-19 in Greenwich is also at 98.

At Greenwich Hospital as of Wednesday afternoon, there were 10 COVID-19 patients being treated, with one patient on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit. Only one patient has been vaccinated, Kelly said.

"Please get your vaccine if you haven't done so yet," she said, also encouraging residents to get their boosters. "I don't think this is the time for people to apply their own medical expertise. We really need to follow the experts, and they're recommending the booster."

At this time last year, Kelly noted, Greenwich Hospital was treating 39 COVID-19 patients.

Across the Yale New Haven Health System at this time last year, there were 145 patients in five hospitals. As of Wednesday, there were 84 patients.

"We've definitely been making progress. We all believed in the winter months that we would see a slight increase, and we just have to hope that increase remains low and that it doesn't spike," Kelly said.

Vaccinations In Greenwich

Kelly said Greenwich Hospital is currently in the process of delivering the second dose to pediatric patients ages 5-11. The hospital will resume pediatric vaccines again in January.

Additionally, Kelly said the hospital will resume administering the Pfizer vaccine and booster in January. Appointments will be available on the Yale New Haven Health System website soon.

Vaccination rates continue to tick up, according to the latest numbers from Camillo's office.

Vaccination rates by age group are as follows:

• 5-11: 38.84 percent have initiated vaccination; 4.4 percent are fully vaccinated
• 12-17: 97.23 initiated; 88.29 fully vaccinated
• 18-24: 94.95 initiated; 81.17 fully vaccinated
• 25-44: 76.38 initiated; 66.76 fully vaccinated
• 45-64: 88.98 initiated; 81.54 fully vaccinated
• 65-plus: 100 percent initiated; 90.95 fully vaccinated

Out of an eligible population of 58,952, 71.94 percent of Greenwich residents are fully vaccinated.

The 25-44 age range, which has remained the lowest percentage among adults, has increased slightly over the past two weeks.

"I do see more people coming in," Kelly said. "People are really working to get their second shot and booster. I think people are paying attention to what we are saying."