Delta now accounts for 98% of skyrocketing COVID cases
Of the 4,383 active cases in Shelby County, more than a quarter are in children, and those children are suffering more respiratory symptoms than they were earlier in the pandemic.
Topic: Doug McGowen
RSSThere are 186 article(s) tagged Doug McGowen:
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August 2021
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July 2021
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Task force briefings resume as Delta drives up COVID cases
The Shelby County Health Department reported 259 new coronavirus cases Thursday, July 22. One month ago, the agency reported 14 new cases. Majority are Delta variant.
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June 2021
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Summer ‘could be rough’ for unvaccinated, those without prior infections
With the Delta coronavirus variant 50% more transmissible than the Alpha variant, Shelby County Health Department deputy director David Sweat said the summer could be “rough” for those who are not vaccinated or have not already had the coronavirus.
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Deputy director ends tenure with Health Department
Shelby County Health Department Deputy Director David Sweat is joining the Mecklenburg County Health Department in North Carolina.
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Delta variant expected to be dominant by late July
“When we look at modeling based on expected reproductive rate, right now it suggests that by the end of July more than 50% of (coronavirus) disease here could be because of Delta,” said David Sweat, deputy director of the Shelby County Health Department.
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Council member proposes city property tax 29 cents above recertified rate
Martavius Jones says he will push for the increase at next week’s council session.
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May 2021
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With vaccine uptake waning, approach changes to get more people vaccinated
Shelby County is about 51% toward its goal of vaccinating 700,000 people, according to the county Health Department. As of Thursday, 355,102 total people are vaccinated with 270,297 of them fully vaccinated.
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First 12-year-olds going through local shot lines
Shelby County children as young as 12 were starting to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Thursday, May 13.
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County poised to remove mask mandate
The mask mandate will be lifted in the new health directive, beginning Saturday, May 15.
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City plans ‘get out the vote’ type vaccine campaign
The City of Memphis is ready now to set up phone banks, dispatch street teams.
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City Council starts budget ‘Super Bowl’ at convention center
The retreat Saturday, May 1, marks the first in-person council meeting in more than a year. It included new details of $16 million in bonuses to city employees in Mayor Jim Strickland’s $716 million budget proposal and a flap over whether team-building exercises and a tour of the Renasant Convention Center were open to reporters.
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April 2021
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India COVID-19 variant detected in Shelby County
One variant linked to India’s recent COVID-19 surge was detected in Shelby County this week, said David Sweat, Shelby County Health Department deputy director.
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No appointments, no lines, but Memphis vaccine rate lags
At last count, 41% of adults in Shelby County had received at least one vaccine; the goal is 70%. Local leaders have done everything from eliminating the need for appointments to giving vaccination recipients gift cards.
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City faces critical decision on one of its most basic services
Memphis has an emergency contract with Team Waste in Area E, probably until the end of 2021. In the interim, officials are considering whether to keep using a private waste company to manage the area or expand city services to cover it.
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A short history of Area E
The solid waste route system covering Cordova, Hickory Hill and East Memphis began as a first step toward privatizing all city solid waste collections during the tenure of a different mayor.
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City faces critical decision on one of its most basic services
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How your solid waste fee ballooned to $30 a month
Here is the history behind the city’s solid waste fee and how it compares to what the city’s new private contractor for Area E is being paid and what the previous contractor was being paid.
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City faces critical decision on one of its most basic services
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Next four weeks ‘critical’ as federal vaccine help likely to move on in May
FEMA is expected to pack up and leave May 17, taking 21,000 extra doses of the vaccine with it.
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Low vaccine turnout raises questions about how long military needed at Pipkin
Demand, even with $20 gift cards, is at one-third of the capacity to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
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Health officials: 2,000-3,000 locally have received J&J vaccine
Doug McGowen also says doses were wasted last weekend when the size of the line at the Pipkin Building site was overestimated. He says fewer than 100 doses have been lost since the city took over vaccine distribution in late February.
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Pandemic end game: Many changes in brief time
The co-leaders of the countywide vaccination distribution effort talked on “Behind The Headlines” about a move this week to no appointments for some and why the federal vaccination presence at the Fairgrounds is unique.
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Pipkin has no-appointment evenings, other vaccine incentives
City also giving MATA riders free rides to Pipkin and making blocks of slots available to groups, including businesses.
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Military brings precision, discipline to Pipkin vaccinations
Shelby County is one of five counties in the eight-state FEMA Region 4 to have received the federal infusion.
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Overtime, emergency contracts get Cordova, Area E garbage picked up
On April 10, the city could terminate its contract with Waste Pro for poor service or determine that Waste Pro has made good on dealing with the backlog of trash. The council voted Tuesday calling on the administration to cancel the city’s contract.
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U.K. variant transitioning to dominant COVID-19 strain
With ample vaccine, the push is on to get people in line to stem the tide of the rapidly growing U.K. strain, which now accounts for 30%-50% of COVID cases in Shelby County.
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Shelby County is 33% toward its vaccination goal
Vaccinating 700,000 people — about 70% of the population —would be sufficient for the county to reach herd immunity, according to local public health experts.
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