The V.I. Health Department is urging residents to get vaccinated as the territory experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases, reflecting a spike seen on the U.S. mainland with the new variant EG.5.
As of Thursday, there were 92 new COVID cases territorywide, with 45 on St. Croix, 45 on St. Thomas and 2 on St. John, the Health Department reported. The positivity rate, which reflects the percentage of positive cases among those tested, is 27.7 percent, it said.
According to the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the “higher the percent positive is, the more concerning it is. As a rule of thumb, however, one threshold for the percent positive being ‘too high’ is 5%.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest data, issued Thursday, shows the EG.5 variant now accounts for 20.6 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., overtaking the variants FL.1.5.1 and XBB.1.16.
However, the CDC has said there is no evidence that EG.5 is able to spread more easily, and that vaccines are expected to continue to be effective against the variant.
And in an interview last month with the American Medical Association, Dr. Andrea Garcia, the agency’s vice president of Science, Medicine and Public Health, said the new variant doesn’t appear to be more deadly than past iterations of the virus.
“I don’t know that it’s time to worry about this just yet,” she said. “We know very little about this new variant. There’s currently no evidence to suggest that it causes more severe illness. And the CDC is indicating that it does appear to be susceptible to COVID vaccines, which is good news.”
The CDC reported in a recent briefing with reporters that an updated vaccine should be available by mid-September, and will likely come with the recommendation that everybody get the booster.
“Vaccination is going to continue to be key this year because immunity wanes and because the COVID-19 virus continues to change,” a CDC official said at the briefing. Beyond being the best protection against severe illness and death, vaccines also help reduce the likelihood of “long COVID,” which can include a wide range of ongoing health problems that can last weeks, months, or years.
Vaccinations are available through the V.I. Health Department:
— On St. Croix from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday, at the Health Department clinic on the second floor of #35 Castle Coakley Unit 5, known as the Old Caribe Home Center Building. No appointments are necessary.
— On St. Thomas, for adults, vaccinations are available from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday to Thursday, at the Community Health Clinic located at the Schneider Regional Medical Center. Call 340-774-7477 for the Flu vaccine to make an appointment.
For children, vaccinations are available at the Maternal Child Health Clinic. Call 340-777-8804, ext. 2600 to make an appointment.
Free drive-through COVID testing is also available through the Health Department:
— On St. Croix, the drive-through testing site adjacent to VIDOH’s red modular in Estate Richmond will open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
— On St. Thomas, the drive-through at the Schneider Regional Medical Center loading dock will open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
On St. John, testing is scheduled for Wednesdays at the VIPA Gravel Lot from noon to 3 p.m.
Schedule an appointment for testing online at https://www.covid19.usvi.care/ or call the VIDOH Hotline: 340-712-6299 for St. Croix and 340-776-1519 for St. Thomas-St. John.
The VIDOH Hotline operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you are experiencing COVID-like symptoms, the department encourages you to get tested.
