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www.newbuffalotimes.com
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2021
Local Government Meetings New Buffalo Times
Democracy Requires Transparency
CITY OF NEW BUFFALO JOHN HUMPHREY, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL LOU O’DONNELL, IV. MARK ROBERTSON, JOHN HUMPHREY, ROGER LIJESKI, BRIAN FLANIGAN City Council meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 6:30PM CITY OF NEW BUFFALO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS to be determined NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP BOARD PETE RAHM, MICHELLE HEIT, JUDY H. ZABICKI, PATTY IAZZETTO, JACK ROGERS Board meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7PM NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month at 6:30PM NEW BUFFALO AREA SCHOOLS BOARD CHUCK HEIT, PRESIDENT HEATHER BLACK, VICE PRESIDENT JOHN HASKINS, TREASURER LISA WERNER, SECRETARY JOYCE LANTZ, TRUSTEE FRANK MARGRO, TRUSTEE PATRICIA NEWSTON, TRUSTEE CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP BOARD DAVID BUNTE, PAULA DUDIAK, LIZ RETTIG, RICHARD SULLIVAN, BILL MARSKE Chikaming Board meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30PM CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6:30PM THREE OAKS THREE OAKS TOWNSHIP BOARD Meets on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7PM VILLAGE OF THREE OAKS BOARD Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7PM
Berrien County remained in high COVID-19 transmission early this week
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BY FRANCESCA SAGALA
s of Tuesday, Aug. 31, are ramping up their efforts and asked Berrien County was members of the public to answer any categorized as still having questions “as thoroughly as possible, “high” transmission, which will help us flatten the curve once according to the CDC more.” Thresholds and Indicators for Dr. Loren Hamel, president of Community Transmission. Spectrum Health Lakeland, said that According to the MDHHS MI Safe the transmission has been up 10-fold Start Map, for the week over a month and “Why are we back of Aug. 24-30, the hospitalizations have in this situation? It’s county had 167.5 new been up four-fold primarily the delta cases per 100,000 and over the last month variant, which is a test positivity at 12.7 at Spectrum Health probably twice as percent. Lakeland. infectious, as well as On Wednesday, Sept. This is no surprise, as a combination of that 1, the Berrien County he said hospitalizations with just a relaxing Health Department tend to “lag a bit.” of a lot of mitigation said that the county is “We’ve been here measures that we averaging 37 new cases before…We were here had before… We all per day from Aug. 24in November; we were thought we were out of 30. here in April. We’re this but we’re seeing “Why are we back now on a steep increase even with a rise in in this situation? in cases and we expect vaccinations we’re not It’s primarily the quite out of the woods,” a steep increase in delta variant, which Dr. Rex Cabaltica, hospitalizations a few medical director for the weeks later,” he said. is probably twice as Berrien County Health infectious, as well as On Aug. 25, Hamel Department, said a combination of that said that there were at a joint Facebook with just a relaxing about 16 COVID-19 Live update with the of a lot of mitigation patients in the health department measures that we had hospital, adding that and Spectrum Health before… We all thought they’re “somewhat Lakeland Wednesday, we were out of this but younger than previous Aug. 25. we’re seeing even with inpatients” and that a rise in vaccinations we’re not quite patients are “almost entirely the out of the woods,” Dr. Rex Cabaltica, unvaccinated.” medical director for the Berrien County “Your protection if you’ve had Health Department, said at a joint a vaccination, even against this Facebook Live update with the health delta strain, will lower your risk for department and Spectrum Health hospitalization and death up to 25 Lakeland Wednesday, Aug. 25. times less – that’s a pretty significant Cabaltica said that contact tracers reduction,” he said.
On Tuesday morning, Aug. 31, the health department reported 18 nonICU hospitalizations and four ICU hospitalizations. Last week, the FDA granted full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine. For children 12 to 15 years old, the vaccine continues to be under emergency use authorization (EUA).
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ast month, the FDA and CDC shared guidance on a third dose being needed for those who are immune compromised, and a booster shot being needed for all people beginning in late September and early October for all of those who received that mRNA vaccine. Hamel said those who are immune compromised might not make antibodies as well as others and a “third dose helps you make more antibodies.” The disease tends to be more difficult in those who are immunocompromised – another reason to get third dose. With the case of booster shots, Hamel said it’s accepted that, over time, antibodies will “wane.” “We’ve seen some evidence that the antibodies are waning, and booster shots will likely be necessary,” he said. He advised everyone to “stay tuned” for when booster shots will be available in Berrien County. A recent newsletter stated that the health department is developing plans to roll out the booster shots to Berrien County residents beginning late September or early October contingent upon further guidance from the CDC.
GRAND BEACH VILLAGE OF GRAND BEACH COUNCIL Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7PM MICHIANA VILLAGE OF MICHIANA COUNCIL Meets on the 2nd Friday of each month at 1PM
There are no facts, only interpretations. — Friedrich Nietzsche
