Gov. Brian Kemp and the state’s top public health official on Wednesday urged all Georgians to get a flu shot this year to avoid what they called a “twindemic.”
In the first coronavirus briefing since August, Kemp and Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the Department of Public Health, said Georgia is making great progress in battling the virus. New cases reported and hospitalizations are both down more than 60 percent from their peaks in July.
But Toomey warned that an active flu season potentially could undo much of the work the state has done.
“Never has it been more important to get a flu shot that this year,” Toomey said. “We realize that people sometimes don’t think a flu shot is effective, or are afraid to get it or just don’t bother. We are trying to prevent twindemics of COVID plus influenza, which could be devasting this year. We don’t know what the presence of influenza may do to a COVID infection.”
Kemp said he is pleased with how Georgians have responded so far to public health guidelines for fighting the coronavirus.
“We’ve been able to accomplish these significant improvements because Georgians have bought into what Dr. Toomey and I have asked them to do and we are very appreciative of that,” Kemp said.
Among the statistics that Kemp cited:
- Georgia ranks 34th among states in new cases per 100,000 population, according to the Wall Street Journal and Johns Hopkins University.
- Hospitalizations are down 60 percent from the peak, with 1,287 people in hospitals today. That numbers represents just 9 percent of all hospital beds.
- The two-week average of positive percentage cases is now 5.9 percent, down from 11.9 percent in early August. Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, among the hardest hit metro counties, have positive percentage cases under 4 percent.
Kemp also said the state’s handling of the crisis has allowed the state’s economy to rebounded relatively quickly.
“The key now is for us to keep doing this,” he said. “We cannot take our foot off the gas. … We’ve been able to keep most businesses open, most kids have been able to return to school, and people have been able to go about their lives in a smart, responsible way.”
In the third quarter of 2020, Georgia added 10,000 new jobs, generating $371 billion in new investments. Kemp said that represents a 50 percent increase in jobs and an 85 percent increase in investments over the same period last year.
