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Release from Phoebe Health Systems

Albany, Ga. – As of Friday morning, these were Phoebe’s COVID-19 numbers:

• Total COVID-19 Patients in Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital – 89
• Total COVID-19 Patients in Phoebe Sumter Medical Center – 23
• Total COVID-19 Patients in Phoebe Worth Medical Center – 1
• Total Inpatients Recovered – 3,068
• Total Positive Deaths from Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital – 362
• Total Positive Deaths from Phoebe Sumter – 92
• Total Positive Deaths from Phoebe Worth – 1
• Total Vaccines Administered – 63,234

“Our overall COVID trendline continues to move in the right direction.  We have seen a decline in COVID inpatients since our peak on Aug. 21, and we are optimistic that trend will continue,” said Scott Steiner, Phoebe Putney Health System President and CEO.  “The overwhelming majority of hospitalized COVID patients remain unvaccinated.  While we are glad to see vaccination numbers increasing, we would like to see them go up much more.  Forty-eight percent of Dougherty County residents have now gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.  That’s below the state rate of 54%.  We fully support the community’s Strive for 75 initiative aimed at getting the vaccination rate up to 75%, and we encourage those who remain unvaccinated to do their part, so that we can stop any future surges,” Steiner added.

This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved third doses of the Pfizer vaccine for certain groups.  Phoebe will begin offering those booster shots to eligible individuals next week.  “We are grateful that the FDA and CDC signed off on a plan to provide boosters to fully vaccinated individuals who may need additional protection.  We want to give Georgia Department of Public Health leaders a chance to digest those recommendations and guidelines and weigh in before we start administering boosters, but we expect to begin providing those shots to our employees and eligible community members next week,” said Dianna Grant, MD, Phoebe Putney Health System Chief Medical Officer.

The plan approved by the FDA and CDC allows a third Pfizer shot for individuals who received their second Pfizer shot at least six months ago and fall into one of the following categories.

• Anyone who is at least 65 years old
• Anyone 18 or older who has a serious underlying medical condition
• Anyone 18 or older who has significant potential exposure to COVID-19 at work, including healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and others

Phoebe plans to open mass vaccination sites in Albany, Americus and Sylvester to administer Pfizer booster shots to eligible individuals.  Early next week, Phoebe will announce details, including the locations of the vaccination sites, hours of operation and how individuals can schedule appointments.