Mayor Toby Barker continues to impress upon residents the importance of getting their COVID-19 booster shots, as officials are seeing hospitalization numbers rise in the Hattiesburg area, while the seven-day average of case numbers is decreasing.
In a Jan. 28 video address, Barker said there were 147 COVID patients hospitalized between Forrest General Hospital and Merit Health Wesley, which is up from 133 the week prior to the address. There were 25 patients in the Intensive Care Unit, up from 20 the week before; 11 patients were on ventilators.
Of the 147 patients in the hospital, 60 were fully vaccinated, meaning they had received one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Of the 25 in the ICU, eight were fully vaccinated, and of the 11 on ventilators, three were fully vaccinated.
“Typically, a lot of these people were beyond the six-month mark of their second dose, and had not received their booster shot,” Barker said. “Again, after six months, the data shows the ability to fight off the infection kind of goes down.
“That’s why it’s so important for people to get that booster shot.”
Forrest County officials reported one new death since last Wednesday, bringing the total number of COVID deaths in that county to 269 since the outbreak came to the area in March 2020. Lamar County also reported one new death for a total of 143. That brings the total number of deaths in the Hattiesburg metropolitan area to 412.
As far as new positive cases, Forrest County reported 204 as of Jan .28; Lamar County reported 145.
The seven-day average number of cases – which shows the average number of daily new cases week over week – has decreased, however. Forrest County reported 175.43 on Jan 28, which was down from 211 the week before Barker’s address; Lamar County reported 137.29, which was down from 171.57 the week before the address.
“Both of those are significant improvements,” Barker said. “We hope that continues, and we hope the hospitalizations will track down as well to follow those numbers.”
The “inside 14-day” number – which shows the number of individuals who have received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis in the past two weeks – has decreased as well. As of Jan. 28, Forrest County reported 2,705, while Lamar County reported 2,162, for a total of 4,876 in the Hattiesburg metropolitan area.
Those numbers are an improvement from the last count, when Forrest County reported 2,803 and Lamar County reported 5,263, for a total of 5,263 in the metro area.
“We want to see these numbers continue to go down,” Barker said. “That’s why we encourage your vaccine and booster shot, wear as mask if you’re going out in public, and stay home if you’re sick.”
In Forrest County, 31,176 residents (41 percent) were fully vaccinated as of Jan. 28, with 34,892 (5 percent) having received one dose. Lamar County saw 37,093 residents (59 percent) fully vaccinated, with 40,937 residents (6 percent) having received one dose.
“We don’t need to be measured when it comes to fighting this disease, and that means taking care of your own health,” Barker said. “So if it’s been six months since your Pfizer or Moderna shot, or if’s it been two months since your J&J shot, it’s time to go get a booster.
“It’s very important to do that right now.”
To that end, every home in the United States is eligible to receive four at-home COVID-19 tests free of charge. Orders, which usually ship in seven to 12 business days, can be placed online at www.covdtests.gov.
