DELAWARE- There is cautious optimism about COVID-19 in the first state.
Hospitalizations continue to fall and so does the 7-day moving average of cases. For the first time since before Christmas, cases are below 1,000 but Governor John Carney says there is plenty of room for it to come down.
"Still a very high number relative to better days under COVID-19 but certainly headed in the right direction," Carney said.
New data has come out about boosters and the numbers are promising. Division of Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay says manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna are showing confidence that they can block infection.
"The booster didn't merely return a person’s immune response to the previous levels of the primary series but it actually increased them to exceed previous levels," Dr. Rattay said.
Taking it a step further, boosters are effective against the Omicron variant. Moderna’s half dose providing 37 times the antibody levels after being fully vaccinated while Pfizer’s full dose provides 25 times the antibody levels.
More data from the Journal of American Medical Association shows the difference one dose makes in getting symptomatic COVID-19.
"The study shows that those who were boosted were much less likely to have tested positive than those who had received just the two doses," Dr. Rattay said.
Of the over 644,000 Delawareans fully vaccinated, over 267,000 of them are boosted. That includes about 44 percent of people 18+ and 64 percent of people 65+.
Both the governor and Dr. Rattay say keeping up with doses is key as people who don't are contributing to over 80 percent of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Yesterday, Governor Carney extended the State of Emergency related to COVID-19 another thirty days. He also said masks are still required in public indoor settings and the state will continue to evaluate conditions around that mandate.