COVID-19 cases continue to go down in Berrien County and hospitalizations have been stable. That’s a message from Berrien County Health Officer Nicki Britten, who gave an update with Spectrum Health Lakeland CEO Loren Hamel on Wednesday. As for the variant out of the U.K. that has now appeared in Van Buren County, Britten said we can expect it in Berrien.
“We have every reason to believe it’s probably here in Berrien County,” Britten said. “We just haven’t identified it yet through the special testing that would identify that strain, and the thing that is just important to keep in mind, and why we can’t let our guard down, is that strain of the virus is just more infectious.”
With slow progress on getting vaccines into people, Hamel said he’s heard many questions about why some people get it and others who should are not getting the shots. He said the system isn’t perfect, but with a limited supply controlled by the federal government, its guidelines are being followed.
“Those aren’t perfect tools,” Hamel said. “They don’t include every disease. They don’t include every condition. We get that, but you have to start someplace, and that’s where the experts have decided to start, and the folks that are paying for the vaccine and sending out for the rest of us to administer.”
Britten said the health department started giving the vaccine to teachers this week, and child care workers will be next. It’s also planning pop up clinics closer to where people who can’t travel live, like at churches and senior centers. She recommended getting yourself on a list to indicate you’re interested in the vaccine, either through a pharmacy or through Lakeland’s MyChart system.
