Berrien Health Officer Talks Latest COVID Developments

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syringe-safe-262-12

While progress has been on the COVID-19 vaccination effort in Berrien County, cases of the illness are on the rise. Berrien County Health Officer Nicki Britten said during a Monday teletown hall meeting with Congressman Fred Upton the numbers have been creeping up, although in a way that might reflect the vaccination effort.

“We’re definitely skewed toward having younger people who are these confirmed cases,” Britten said. “So we’re seeing a lot more cases among those under the age of 19 as well as younger adults, people in their 20s and their 30s.”

Britten said hospitalizations are up, although very few are in the ICU. Upton said he’s heard similar information from other health systems in his district. Britten said nearly 75% of those age 65 and older received at least one shot in Berrien County, along with about 33% of the total population. When asked about vaccine side effects, Britten said she herself struggled with them, but…

“The side effects from the vaccine tend to be pretty short-lived, about 36 hours. That definitely feels like a long time when you’re experiencing them, especially if they’re particularly robust, but it is better than a hospital stay for COVID.”

Britten said the Berrien County Health Department has received all three approved vaccines, and it’s making known which vaccine someone would be signing up for on its website with clinic appointments. That’s one way someone could have a degree of choice, although she noted other providers in the county don’t offer that. She also noted the UK variant of COVID has been identified in Berrien in 19 cases. She stressed continued caution is needed while the county remains in the “messy middle” where we’ve vaccinated a lot of people, but not everyone.