The Delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading across the state and now Pitt County is at high risk for unvaccinated individuals. Ashlyn DeLoughy has more.
Pitt County has reported nearly 600 positive coronavirus cases in the last 14 days. The county is experiencing a 14 percent positivity rate, exceeding the state's current average. According to Vidant Health CEO Dr. Michael Waldrum, local hospitals are mainly treating unvaccinated patients. Since January, over 2,000 COVID-19 patients have been admitted to the hospitals and only 40 of those were breakthrough cases.
"We've been constantly anticipating three six months down the road and so we're here talking about today and I think all of us need to understand how we act today affects three, six months down the road. We need people to be vaccinated to prevent a really potentially devastating set of issues."
Pitt County is not alone in this surge. Waldrum says E-C-U’s Brody School of Medicine has reported that the delta variant makes up 85 percent of coronavirus cases in Eastern North Carolina. Despite Pitt County's ongoing efforts to vaccinate, 44 percent of Pitt County’s population is fully vaccinated while 47 percent of individuals have had at least one dose of the vaccine. Vidant Health is a sponsor of PRE.