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WESTFORD — Westford’s coronavirus cases have increased week over week according to data published by the Department of Public Health on Thursday.
The two week case count has increased to 35 cases, up from 28 positive cases reported on Sept. 15.
The positive test rate also increased to 7.02%, up from 6.19% reported on Sept. 15. 95,798 tests have been administered in Westford so far, with 513 tests administered in the last two weeks.
A total of 4,965 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Westford as of Sept. 22. The state has reported over 1.86 million total cases of COVID-19. The state has reported 15,932 cases in the last two weeks. 7.44% of the total 235,073 tests administered, or 17,419 tests, have returned positive.
As of Sept. 20, 84 of the 100 intensive care unit beds remain occupied in Northeastern Massachusetts, while 902 of the 932 medical and surgical beds remain occupied in the region.
As of Sept. 22, Middlesex County has reported 3,495 positive cases in the last two week period between Sept. 4 and Sept. 17. 6.95%, or 3,808 of 54,761 total tests returned positive in the county.
In the last two weeks, Middlesex County has reported 17 confirmed and probable deaths, while the state has reported 122 confirmed and probable deaths.
Updated booster shots available, expected for children by mid-October
On Aug. 31, the Food and Drug Administration authorized an updated booster to target the currently circulating variants of the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control expects the bivalent vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech to be available for children aged 5-11 years and Moderna’s vaccine for those aged 6-17 years to be available by mid-October, pending FDA authorization.
The United States government has ordered over 170 million doses of the updated vaccines to be available this fall. Though the updated vaccines remain free, the Biden administration noted that Congress will have to approve additional funding for vaccines and tests to remain free beyond the short-term.
“Unfortunately, the timeline to make the transition has accelerated over the past six months without additional funds from Congress to support this work,” wrote Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell in an Aug. 30 post.
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