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WESTFORD — Westford’s coronavirus cases have remained steady week over week according to data published by the Department of Public Health on Thursday.
Between Oct. 2 and Oct. 15, 43 positive cases have been reported in Westford. In those two weeks, Westford reported 50 total positive tests, with 9.23% of 542 tests returning positive, a decrease from 9.87% reported on Oct. 13.
96,887 total tests have been administered in Westford since the pandemic began.
A total of 5,062 total cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Westford as of Oct. 20. The state has reported over 1.9 million total cases of COVID-19. The state has reported 15,366 cases in the last two weeks. 7.85% of the total 217,996 tests administered, or 17,114 tests, have returned positive.
As of Oct. 18, 78 of the 90 intensive care unit beds remain occupied in Northeastern Massachusetts, while 973 of the 989 medical and surgical beds remain occupied in the region.
As of Oct. 20, Middlesex County has reported 3,283 positive cases in the last two week period between Oct. 2 and Oct. 15. 7.36%, or 3,878 of 52,988 total tests returned positive in the county.
In the last two weeks, Middlesex County has reported 28 confirmed and probable deaths, while the state has reported 164 confirmed and probable deaths.
Updated booster shots available for children
On Aug. 31, the Food and Drug Administration authorized an updated booster to target the currently circulating variants of the virus. On Oct. 12, the FDA authorized both bivalent COVID-19 boosters from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
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.
The vaccines will soon be available at pharmacies and retailers nationwide.
White House COVID-19 Dr. Ashish Jha urged Americans to receive their updated booster by Oct. 31, ahead of the holiday season. The vaccines take approximately two weeks to become fully effective.
Both vaccines are authorized for children ages 5 to 11. It is unclear as to when updated boosters will become available for younger children.
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