COVID-19 County Check

CDC launched a new COVID-19 surveillance report tool called “Community Levels”, which uses metrics more closely aligned with significant outcomes from COVID-19 infection, rather than infections alone, to help inform individuals and communities (counties) about recommended prevention strategies. Hospitalizations, hospital bed capacity, as well new infections in an area are the primary indicators being used to determine whether a community has high, medium, or low community levels.

Uncas Health District will begin using the data presented in this tool, along with town and school-level transmission data, to help inform our recommendations moving forward.

We are pleased to see the CDC shifting to an outcome-centered approach as opposed to one focused exclusively on cases at this point in the pandemic, given the high levels of vaccination, as well as considerable population-level immunity after recovery from widespread natural infections in all of the towns within Uncas Health District.