Now that the majority of residents 75 and older have had the opportunity to be vaccinated, the Allegany County Health Department will begin transitioning to Phase 1C, scheduling appointments for individuals under age 75, with the oldest first. In addition to those age 65 and older, Phase 1C includes public health and safety workers not covered in Phase 1A; and essential workers in lab services, food/agriculture production, manufacturing, the U.S. Postal Service, public transit, and grocery stores.
“In partnership with UPMC Western Maryland, we are scheduling appointments for eligible individuals who have completed the online Vaccine Interest Form,” stated ACHD spokesperson Brenda Caldwell. “Those who were eligible in previous phases are still prioritized, followed by those age 65 and older. Those classifications will be followed by the remainder of those who qualify under Phase 1C.”
All Allegany County Residents, regardless of priority group, are encouraged to complete the Vaccine Interest Form at health.maryland.gov/allegany so that they can be contacted to schedule an appointment when they are eligible. Friends and family members can complete the form for those without access to the Internet. If you have completed the form and have not yet received a call, please be patient. There is no need to call or sign up again. You will be served as soon as possible.
“UPMC Western Maryland is pleased to continue to work alongside the Allegany County Health Department within the state’s vaccination distribution plan and will continue to provide clinics to facilitate the community’s strong desire to receive the vaccine. As more vaccine becomes available, we will remain a key player in vaccinating our community amid the parameters set forth by the state,” said UPMC Western Maryland spokesperson Ed DeWitt.
Allegany County Vaccination and Case Statistics as of February 28:
• Vaccine Dose 1: 10,107 (14.4% of the county population)
• Vaccine Dose 2: 7,141 (10.1%)
• New COVID Cases: 8 (cumulative total 6,408)
• Additional Deaths: 1 (cumulative total 199)
• Cases Per 100,000 Population: 3.04 (Maryland: 13.55)
• Positivity Rate: 1.08% (Maryland: 3.52%)
There were (2) two New Positive COVID cases today.
1,194 Total COVID Cases
• 960 Confirmed Positive COVID cases
• 234 Probable COVID cases (Probable cases are those that have a positive result from a rapid antigen test).
• 1,137 Total Recovered
• 29 Active Cases.
• 24 Deaths listed as COVID related (6 from GRCC).
WV residents wanting COVID-19 Vaccine CAN PREregister online at
www.vaccinate.wv.gov or by calling 833-734-0965.
You will be called for an appointment for COVID vaccine based on the Governor’s priority group.
If you would like to be on the list to receive the COVID vaccine and are unable to register for COVID vaccine, call for assistance:
• Grant County Senior Center
304-257-1666 or
• Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC)
304- 257-2847.
The Hampshire County Health Department received 2 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Case investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.
Hampshire County’s current case count is 1,572 confirmed (PCR and Rapid test combined), 34 active, 29 deaths and 2 hospitalizations.
**Free Community Testing**
Thursday, March 4th from 10a-6p
Hampshire County Fairgrounds, Augusta WV
The Hardy County Health Department and Hardy County Office of Emergency Management has four additional confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Hardy County, making 21 active cases, with a total confirmed case count of 1,328. We have had 22 confirmed COVID-19 deaths. We currently have 17 patients in quarantine at home, following proper protocol to protect their neighbors and community. Four patients are currently hospitalized due to severe symptoms of COVID-19. Due to privacy, additional information regarding the persons, area of residence, and travel history will not be disclosed. The Hardy County Health Department has completed the necessary contact tracing to ensure the safety of close contacts and to prevent additional transmission. Hardy County now has 1,285 individuals recovered, included in the total confirmed case count of 1,328.
In Mineral County the total number of positive cases since the pandemic began is 2448 with 59 active cases, 2353 recovered and a total of 75 deaths.
Allegany County hit the 10,000 mark of residents vaccinated on Sunday February 28th, 2021.
As of Sunday, 10,088 Allegany County residents had received the first dose of the vaccine, just over 14% of the population. The second dose of the vaccine has been administered to 7,137 residents.
Jake Shade, President of the Board of County Commissioners, praised the Allegany County Health Department and UPMC-Western Maryland for their efforts.
“I believe we are running one of the best vaccination programs in the State of Maryland in terms of efficiency, the only thing that is holding us back from administering more doses is receiving more doses. This vaccination program was achieved while also running a large scale testing location at the fairgrounds.”
He continued:
“This milestone is another step to returning to normalcy. We need to remain cautious over the next few months, but we should recognize the incredible drop in cases since the peak in December and even the decrease in the last 30 days.”
On Saturday, Allegany County had the lowest case rate in Maryland at 3.04 per 100,000 residents. Statewide, the rate is 13.57. Allegany County’s highest peak occurred on December 6th with 198.41 cases per 100,000 residents.
Also as of Saturday, Allegany County had the lowest positivity percentage in the state at 1.02%, compared to the statewide number of 3.46%. On January 31st, Allegany County’s positivity percentage was 5.37%, a decrease from the peak of 18.81% on December 5th.
Shade concluded:
“We are going to keep working hard in every way we can. That means continuing to vaccinate the public as fast as we can, administering local covid relief funds to businesses who have been impacted, working with the Board of Education to ensure they have every resource necessary to get students back in school safely, and keeping your county government running smoothly. It’s been incredible to see our community work together over the last year.”
Allegany County Government has dispersed $3,250,558 in grants to over 300 local businesses since May 2020.
The Allegany County Office Complex will re-open to the public Monday, March 8th, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.
The Allegany County Board of Commissioners meetings will be open to the public, following social distancing guidelines, at the next Public Business Meeting on Thursday, March 11th, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.