April 14, 2021 Update

DPH Follows FDA and CDC Guidance Pausing J&J Vaccinations in Georgia

Following the guidance and recommendations of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is pausing J&J (Janssen) vaccinations in Georgia until further notice. The FDA and CDC are reviewing data involving six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot occurring in women aged 18-48 about a week after vaccination. None of the six cases are in individuals vaccinated in Georgia and are unrelated to the reactions reported last week at the Cumming Fairgrounds site.

DPH and District Health Departments are working to provide Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for individuals with previously scheduled appointments for the J&J vaccine. In some cases, this may require rescheduling, and we ask for patience while scheduling arrangements and adjustments are made.

Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare, but out of an abundance of caution DPH will temporarily stop the administration of the J&J vaccine while scientists review the data around these cases. More than 124,000 doses of J&J vaccine have been safely administered in Georgia.

Individuals who have received the J&J vaccine and develop severe headache, abdominal pain leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care providers. DPH urges all health care providers to be aware of the potential for these adverse events and plan for appropriate treatment required with these types of blood clots.

Vaccination remains one of our best tools for stopping the spread of COVID-19, along with basic prevention measures – wearing a mask, distancing from others, avoiding large gatherings and frequent hand washing.

DPH will continue to monitor the situation with J&J vaccines and provide additional information as it becomes available.

Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report

April 14 Case Update for Athens-Clarke County

The Wednesday, April 14 update shows an increase of 68 positive cases and 2 deaths since Wednesday, April 7.

As of April 13, 17.2% of ACC residents were fully vaccinated.

For reference, here are the cumulative numbers from the beginning of each month:

April 1, 2021 - 12, 439
March 1, 2021 - 12,004
February 1, 2021 - 11,162
January 1, 2021 - 8,580
December 1 - 6,732
November 1 - 5,872
October 1 - 5,121
September 1 - 3,082
August 1 - 1,694
July 1 - 574
June 1 - 293
May 1 - 155
April 1 - 54
March 1 - 4

The Daily Status Report is now updated once daily at 3:00 p.m. to allow time to process and validate laboratory and case reports. The Daily Status Report is available at https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report. The statewide Vaccination Dashboard is available at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/3d8eea39f5c1443db1743a4cb8948a9c.

Positive UGA COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck - Week 34 (April 5-11)

The University of Georgia DawgCheck tool gives members of the campus community the ability to self-monitor and to facilitate information sharing internally and with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Any student or employee with a positive COVID-19 test is required to report the test in DawgCheck.

Last Five Weeks of Tests

Positive COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck

Visit the UGA Health Center Website with these graphs and other updates.

The table above reflects the total number of positive test results reported through DawgCheck each week. It is updated every Wednesday. Please note the following:

Positive tests reported through DawgCheck are from any of the approximately 50,000 faculty, staff, and students connected to the University of Georgia, whether located in Athens, extended campuses, extension offices across the state, or even other states and countries for students who elected to take online classes.
The totals may include reports from individuals who have not been on campus recently, there may be delays in reporting, and the totals may even include individuals who have recovered.
Therefore, the data does not serve as an accurate barometer of the current status of COVID-19 at any point in time at any one of UGA’s campuses.
Since August 10, UGA has supported surveillance testing (Legion Field) for asymptomatic individuals and clinical (Health Center) testing resources for symptomatic students as a means of distancing the two populations and optimizing the use of Health Center staff and the facility. Because students are showing symptoms when they request a test at the Health Center, it is expected that its tests would have a significantly higher positivity rate than would be the case for those who are asymptomatic when tested.
Results of testing at the University Health Center for the week of April 5 include a total of 90 COVID-19 tests; 5 were positive and 85 were negative. The positivity rate was 5.6%.
For the week of April 5, 50% of the tests in the “Other” category were performed in Athens-Clarke and its 5 adjoining counties, and the remaining 50% were located elsewhere in the state. No students reported positive tests done outside of the state. No instructional faculty members reported a positive test.

DawgCheck and other University of Georgia-related COVID information is available at the University Health Center website at https://uhs.uga.edu/healthtopics/covid-19-health-and-exposure-updates.

Frequency of Updates

This coronavirus email / text update is sent weekly during normal weeks, usually on Wednesdays, with other updates as necessary with important information.

Questions can still be directed to www.accgov.com/coronavirus, which will be updated regularly, the info line at 706-613-3333, or coronavirus@accgov.com.