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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 47 cases, up from 35 positive cases reported on Sept. 22.
The positive test rate also increased to 8.9%, up from 7.02% reported on Sept. 22. 96,035 tests have been administered in Westford so far, with 528 tests administered in the last two weeks.
A total of 4,983 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Westford as of Sept. 29. The state has reported over 1.87 million total cases of COVID-19. The state has reported 19376 cases in the last two weeks. 7.68% of the total 252,437 tests administered, or 19,376 tests, have returned positive.
As of Sept. 27, 85 of the 99 intensive care unit beds remain occupied in Northeastern Massachusetts, while 961 of the 972 medical and surgical beds remain occupied in the region.
As of Sept. 29, Middlesex County has reported 3,795 positive cases in the last two week period between Sept. 11 and Sept. 24. 7.15%, or 4,160 of 58,201 total tests returned positive in the county.
In the last two weeks, Middlesex County has reported 20 confirmed and probable deaths, while the state has reported 119 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 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.
On Sept. 26, Pfizer submitted an application to the FDA seeking authorization of its updated bivalent COVID-19 booster for children between the ages of 5 and 11. This request comes days after Moderna submitted its request for authorization for its booster to be used in children as young as 6 years old.
Moderna’s booster shot is available for adults, while Pfizer’s shot is available for those 12 years old and up.
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.
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