SALYERSVILLE – While Magoffin County recovers from the ice storms and flooding, it seems to be showing improvements in the number of COVID-19 cases, with the county in the yellow category and schools planning on extending in-person instruction starting next week.
To date, 1,007 people from Magoffin County have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, with only 15 new this week.
At press time, no one from the county is hospitalized for the virus.
The Magoffin County Health Department has distributed 1,500 vaccines to date, with Magoffin County Public Health Director and Salyersville Mayor James “Pete” Shepherd noting that they are currently still vaccinating people 60 years old and older. He said he hopes they will be able to open the eligibility more in the next week or so.
Shepherd said that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is available to the Magoffin County Health Department, but that they plan to continue to distribute the Moderna vaccine, explaining that the Moderna has a higher effectiveness rate.
People 60 and over, as well as healthcare workers and essential frontline employees, can call the health department at 606-349-6212 to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine.
Also new this week, Walgreens has started taking appointments for the vaccine, with people able to go online at www.walgreens.com to schedule their first and second appointment. People will have to fill out a brief questionnaire to determine eligibility and make or sign into their Walgreens account to schedule the appointments. As of Monday, the local Walgreens was distributing the Pfizer vaccine.
Also available in this region, people can still call or go online to get on the vaccine list at any of the following providers: Paul B. Hall Medical Center, Highlands ARH, Pikeville Medical Center, Kings Daughters in Ashland, ARH West Liberty and Saint Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead.
Shepherd also explained that having the virus once does not make people immune to catching it, again, with the CDC stating that it will generally protect the person for up to 90 days, though there have been at least two cases in Magoffin County where people have tested positive for the virus, again, less than 90 days after having COVID-19.
As Magoffin County Schools Superintendent Scott Helton had promised last week, Magoffin County Schools have decided on the specifics regarding expanding their in-person learning, with the district posting the following to Facebook on Wednesday:
Magoffin County Schools will be operating on virtual learning for Thursday, March 4th and Friday, March 5th.
Beginning Monday, March 8th, students who are participating in in-person classes will be attending Mondays through Thursdays, with all students participating in virtual classes only on Friday.
If you have any questions, please contact the school your student attends.
At press time, Magoffin County remains in the yellow category, with an incidence rate at 4.7 per 100,000, based on the previous seven days.
