Dr. Robert Duncanson
CHATHAM – Amid rising COVID case numbers across the region, town officials in Chatham are urging residents and visitors that the pandemic is not yet over and that they must continue to take health and safety precautions.
Director of Health and Natural Resources Dr. Robert Duncanson said that the region will continue to see both typical and breakthrough cases of COVID-19, but those vaccinated will experience much less severe symptoms.
“We are seeing a rise in vaccinated people showing positive for COVID-19, not unexpected. No vaccine is 100 percent effective,” said Duncanson.
“The current Delta variant is highly contagious and is pushing the limits of the vaccine, if you will. But clearly vaccinated people are much better off medically. Most of the cases in vaccinated people, the symptoms have been very mild: not leading to hospitalizations, severe illness or death.”
Provincetown has been the site for outbreaks of the virus lately, with over 130 new cases of COVID-19 having been linked to Fourth of July festivities in the Outer Cape town.
With children under the age of 12 still having yet to be approved for any brand of vaccine, Duncanson said that they factor significantly into possible spread of the disease.
Duncanson said that the latest information indicated that this demographic may become eligible for the vaccine mid-winter, after another four to six months of follow up tests and research in test groups.
Whether children are required to wear masks or face coverings will be up to the school systems themselves, as the town has no current mandate on masks, said the health official.
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