(HYANNIS) – Despite having the highest percentage of its population vaccinated in Massachusetts, Barnstable County continues to see increased cases of COVID-19
This leaves many asking: how is it possible for a highly vaccinated population to be seeing a spike?
“Barnstable County is picking up about 97 cases a day, so about 100 cases a day, in this third wave,” explained Vaira Harik, Deputy Director & Senior Project Manager at the Barnstable County Department of Human Services. “We are suffering disproportionately higher case rates than statewide.”
The upward trend has quickly gained the attention of top health and state officials. In separate press conferences on April 1st, both Governor Charlie Baker and Cape & Islands State Senator Julian Cyr may have given us the answer.
“The cases that we’re seeing are in younger folks. We’re not seeing cases around older adults because most older adults have received one dose of vaccine,” explained Cyr.
“Thirty-nine percent of Cape residents have received at least one vaccine – and of that, 90% of the vaccinated population is individuals 75 and older.”
According to the 2018 American Community Survey, 29.2% of Barnstable County’s population is over 65. Nearly 60% of the county population is aged 45 or older.
“So what you see is an older population that is getting vaccinated and has the highest vaccination rates in the state, paralleled with an active outbreak with younger folks.”
It’s a statistic that was echoed in just hours later in an afternoon press conference held by Baker, who reiterated “the largest growth is in people under the age of 40.” This is the reason, he explains, for why the vaccines were staggered purposely by age. “I can’t continue to stress enough that our (vaccine) focus from the beginning is on those most vulnerable.”
What this meant for Barnstable County, however, is that those eligible to receive vaccines and those that are most actively spreading the virus are not in the same category.
“This spike in cases, if it continues, will be a third wave of Covid-19 on Cape Cod in this pandemic unfortunately. We do suspect some of this is driven by variants of Covid-19, which are more transmissible variants,” said Cyr.
It’s a trend he and other officials are hoping will turn downward before the tourist destination sees what is anticipated to be a record-breaking 2021 season critical for revitalizing local businesses.
“We continue to monitor and respond to a real spike in Covid-19 that we’re seeing cross the mid-lower and upper Cape, and the question is how do we save lives and livelihoods for this summer?”
The answer may lie in a combination of factors, including the opportunity for all Massachusetts residents to get vaccinated on April 19th. If paired with continued mask wearing, hand-washing and the practice of social distancing, Cyr says he is “optimistic” for a safe summer season on Cape Cod.
“Although the days are getting nicer and although we see a higher percentage of people in our community vaccinated, we need to continue vigilance here,” he urged before acknowledging the need to protect the local residents and workforce necessary for a successful summer. “The vast majority of year-round residents who want a vaccine will be able to get a vaccine long before the summer season is here. That’s what we are so aggressively aiming to do just that; we’re particularly trying to reach the front line workers before the floodgates open.”
Barnstable County Department of Health Director Sean O’Brien urged a similar plea during Thursday morning’s conference. “We’re getting shots into arms, so we’re moving forward, but I can’t implore how important it is to maintain these precautions in doing these activities because as we’re starting to get everybody vaccinated, we’re seeing that light at the end of the tunnel. But we need to be cautious.”
The struggle to sign up for a vaccine on Cape Cod is one additional factor that’s been frequently lamented by residents, yet points to what could be a good sign of an eagerness of residents to protect themselves and their community.
“We haven’t had a problem filling every single slot we have, so there is tremendous demand from those who want to get vaccinated here in the Commonwealth.”
Until it becomes open to all, he implored residents to continue best practices as a critical way to control the region’s spike expected to surge following holiday gatherings.
“Just this year, it would be great if people could continue to celebrate with their immediate family,” he said. “We saw it happen at Thanksgiving, we saw it happen at Christmas, let’s try to make this particular weekend a little different than what we saw at the previous two.”
By Emmalyn Reid, Cape Wide News
Editor’s note: This version corrects the percentage of the county’s population is over 65%. CWN regrets the error.
