DPH SHARES MONTHLY COVID-19 UPDATE, ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO DATA REPORTING AND BOOSTER GUIDANCE; HIGHLIGHTS VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS STUDY

DOVER, DE (Dec. 15, 2022) - The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is providing several key updates related to COVID-19 data and vaccines. According to the most recent data on the state's My Healthy Community data dashboard, the statewide 7-day average of new positive COVID-19 cases has increased slightly following Thanksgiving and other gatherings over the past month. Hospitalizations have also increased. As holiday travel increases and families gather in coming weeks, residents are urged to remain vigilant and protected against the COVID-19 virus. Consider masking up while shopping, testing before and after gatherings, and being prepared by getting vaccinated with the updated COVID booster. As of Dec. 15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports COVID-19 community levels in Kent and Sussex counties as medium. New Castle County is low.

Vaccine Effectiveness Study - This week marks two years since the first patient in the United States received a COVID-19 vaccine. As the virus evolved and more variants emerged, the U.S. adjusted the program with the recommendation of additional doses and variant-specific boosters. A recently published Commonwealth Fund study estimates that from December 2020 through November 2022, the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program prevented more than 3.2 million additional deaths and 18.5 million additional hospitalizations. In addition, the modeling indicates that there would have been nearly 120 million more COVID-19 infections over that time period and the vaccination program saved over $1.15 trillion in medical costs that would have been incurred otherwise in the United States alone. Given increases in cases amid the co-circulation of three respiratory viruses, getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is more important than ever.

Bivalent Boosters for Infants/Toddlers - On Dec. 9, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization to Moderna to expand use of the bivalent booster to ages 6 months - 5 years. In addition, Pfizer's bivalent booster received Emergency Use Authorization for use as the third dose in the primary series for 6 months - 4 years of age, but not for use as a bivalent booster. Those ages 5 and older are eligible for a Pfizer bivalent booster, and those ages 6 and older are eligible for a Moderna bivalent booster, under previous authorizations. Specifically:

• Children 6 months through 5 years of age who received the original (monovalent) Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine are now eligible to receive a single booster of the updated (bivalent) Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine two months after completing a primary series with the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.
• Children 6 months through 4 years of age who have not yet begun their three-dose primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or have not yet received the third dose of their primary series, will now receive the updated (bivalent) Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as the third dose in their primary series.
• Children 6 months through 4 years of age who have already completed their three-dose primary series with the original (monovalent) Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine will not be eligible for a booster dose of an updated bivalent vaccine at this time. Children in this age group who already completed their primary series would still be expected to have protection against the most serious outcomes from the currently circulating omicron variant.

DPH expects supply of these bivalent doses for infants and toddlers to arrive in Delaware this week. As soon as supply is received, providers may begin administration. Full details and information about where to obtain these vaccines are available at de.gov/boosters and de.gov/youthvaccine.

Transition to weekly reporting of COVID-19 data on My Healthy Community - Starting Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, COVID-19 data reporting on the Division of Public Health's My Healthy Community (MHC) data portal will transition from daily to weekly updates. This is consistent with the CDC's reporting structure, which moved to providing weekly data updates in October. Going forward, the COVID-19 dashboard will be updated every Wednesday with a reporting time frame from Wednesday of the prior week to Tuesday of the current week. In the event of a significant surge in cases, while DPH will not revert back to daily data reporting on the dashboard, the agency will work to make more real-time data available. The next update on MHC will be posted Wednesday, Dec. 21.

COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations:

• Total positive cases since March 11, 2020: 319,477*
• 7-day daily average of new positive cases: 159.1, an increase of 53.2 average new positive cases reported since Nov 18, 2022
• 7-day daily average for the percentage of total positive tests: 9.4 percentage points, an increase of 2.7 percentage points reported since Nov 18, 2022
• Hospitalizations: 148 current hospitalizations, 11 critical hospitalizations
• Total COVID-19 deaths: 3,185, an increase of 22 since last month, including 21 as a result of ongoing Vital Statistics review of deaths occurring between February and November.

*Case and testing data are based on reporting of lab-confirmed COVID-19 tests only. The number of COVID-19 cases in the community is higher than what is reported because of the use of at-home test kits.

COVID-19 Vaccinations:

• Total number of doses administered in Delaware: 2,083,675
• Percentage of Delawareans 5+ who are fully vaccinated (CDC data): 76.2%
• Percentage of Delawareans 12+ who are fully vaccinated (CDC data): 80.3%
• Percentage of Delawareans 18+ who are fully vaccinated (CDC data): 81.8%
• Percent of Delawareans who are fully vaccinated (CDC data): 72%

COVID-19 Case Vaccination Status Report:
The following reports capture a weekly breakdown of non-boosted cases, deaths and hospitalizations for the time frame of Dec. 5, 2022 - Dec. 11, 2022.

Not up-to-date: Case - Hospital - Death

Note
Case and Hospitalization Count: based on RTS (Report to State Date) Death: based on DoD (Date of Death) Not up-to-date: all cases that are not completed a COVID-19 vaccine primary series and/or have not received the most recent booster dose recommended by CDC. (CDC's guidance updated Dec 9th, 2022) DE resident only*

Long-term Care Statistics:

As of Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, there have been a total of 5,028 positive COVID-19 cases involving long-term care residents, and 1,006 residents of Delaware long-term care facilities have died from complications related to COVID-19.

Resources:

Individuals with general questions about COVID-19 should call Delaware 2-1-1, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can text their ZIP code to 898-211, or email delaware211@uwde.org. Hours of operation are:

• Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Medically related questions regarding testing, symptoms, and health-related guidance can be submitted by email at DPHCall@delaware.gov.

DPH will continue to update the public as more information becomes available. For the latest on Delaware's response, go to de.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone who is deaf, hard of hearing, Deaf-Blind or speech disabled can contact DPH by dialing 711 first using specialized devices (i.e. TTY, TeleBraille, voice devices). The 711 service is free and to learn more about how it works, please visit delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.

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