During a press conference on Thursday Governor John Bel Edwards gave and update on COVID in the state but also updated on vaccinations.
Edwards gave an update on the current state numbers for COVID-19. During the press conference Edwards stated that deaths have risen slightly again but testing volume and precent positivity is decreasing.
"We are encouraged by the numbers we are seeing but there are still reasons to remain cautious," Edwards said. Southwest Louisiana still shows that more than half the cases of the UK variant are coming out of that area. The UK variant is now responsible for most new cases reported in the country.
Dr. Kanter with LDH says that COVID continues to go down in the state. The state positivity is at 2 percent. Hospitalizations are just over 300.
While this is good, Kanter says that there is still reason to be cautious. One reason being the COVID-19 variants including the UK variant.
"The number one thing we can do right now, besides wearing a mask is get vaccinated," he stated.
During the press conference it was announced that the Louisiana Department of Health has gone live with a COVID-19 vaccine hotline as part of the Bring Back Louisiana campaign.
The hotline, at 1-855-453-0774, will help residents schedule vaccine appointments, find vaccine providers in their area and connect people with medical professionals who can answer vaccine-related questions.
The hotline will be able to schedule vaccine appointments for residents at any LDH vaccination sites or with other providers that use a phone number to schedule. For providers who only offer web-based scheduling, call agents may be able to help residents navigate those systems.
The hotline’s hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
The number of vaccine allocations for next week
- 64,350 Pfizer
- 47,000 Moderna
- 8,000 J&J
The J&J supply is expected to be low through the month of April but it should increase during the month of May, LDH says.
LDH says they are tracking several breakthrough cases, in which people are fully vaccinated but still contract COVID-19. Dr. Kanter says that with every vaccine, there is no 100 percent immunity
170 breakthrough cases have been recorded out of all people who have been fully vaccinated. That is 0.02% of those who have been vaccinated. Of those 170 the age range of cases is in those age 27 through 98, mostly women, Kanter explained.
"This is in line with the data we saw from the trials for the vaccine," Kanter said.
Today, LDH goes live with a COVID-19 vaccine hotline as part of the Bring Back Louisiana campaign. pic.twitter.com/UHtZUQnUG4
— Louisiana Department of Health (@LADeptHealth) April 8, 2021
A press briefing on Louisiana's response to COVID-19 will be held on Thursday April 8, 2021.
Governor John Bel Edwards is scheduled to speak at 2:30 pm
KATC will stream the press conference on katc.com and our Facebook page. A live stream of the press conference is below:
Last week, Edwards lessened restrictions on the capacity limits for businesses and gatherings. See more on that expansion here.
Vaccinations in the state are also open to anyone 16 years of age or older. See more here.
For the latest on COVID-19 numbers in the state, click here.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
