SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio — COVID-19 infections in Summit County are again on the rise, with officials recording a sharp increase since Halloween, according to Summit County Public Health.
The 14-day average cases per 100,000 among residents 18 to 64 rose from 370 on Oct. 31 to 899 by Dec. 1, officials said.
Drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinics, hosted by the health department, will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8 and Wednesday, Dec. 15 at the health department, located at 1867 W. Market St. in west Akron.
Those 12 and older can receive a booster, or begin their initial vaccination series at the clinics. All three brands of the vaccine will be available — two-dose Pfizer and Moderna, and one-dose J&J— while they are in stock, officials said.
Appointments are required and can be made online. Slots fill quickly so sign up soon, officials said. The health department is no longer offering gift cards for those getting vaccinated.
Anyone who is homebound and would like a vaccination can fill out an online form to schedule an appointment, or call 330-926-5795.
Vaccination appointments can also be made at many area pharmacies.
The health department’s supply of COVID-19 home test kits is running low so kits will be limited to two per person, officials said. Call ahead at 330-923-4891 to check availability.
The Summit County COVID-19 dashboard crunches the numbers back to early 2020, for infections and vaccinations.
More than 306,000 county residents are now fully vaccinated, not including booster shots, which are underway, the county said.
In the last 60 days, 827 Summit County residents have been hospitalized with the virus, with nearly 18% spending time in the ICU, the county said. The average hospital stay is about one week and the average age of COVID-19 patients is 64.
On Jan. 1, Summit County had nearly 29,000 cumulative cases of COVID-19, a number that now stands at nearly 72,000 cases, according to dashboard. The county’s positivity rate is 16%, up from 13% last week.
The number of cases on individual days remained relatively low following Thanksgiving Day, when the county logged 259 cases. By Nov. 30, that number had reached 407, the highest count in the last three months, the county said.
Statewide, nearly 64% of Ohioans 18 and older have completed a vaccine series, according to Ohio’s COVID-19 Dashboard.
Across all eligible age groups, 53% of residents are fully vaccinated, representing nearly 62 million Ohioans, the state said.
