Town sees more than 30 new covid cases in past week

Aug 19, 2021

Wareham saw 32 new cases of covid-19 over the past week, according to the state’s Aug. 19 covid-19 case data. 

The town hasn’t seen that many new cases of covid-19 since early May — back when the town was classified as “yellow” in the state’s covid-19 risk reporting system. 

Wareham’s average daily incidence rate jumped from 7.7 to 11.2 cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days. Given Wareham’s population, 11.2 cases per 100,000 people means there were about 2.6 new cases each day over the past two weeks.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 1,851 coronavirus cases in Wareham.

Vaccination rate

The town’s vaccination rate lags behind other Massachusetts communities. According to the state’s Aug. 19 data, only 54 percent of Wareham residents have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. That amounts to 12,977 people — up 123 people from last week.

Only 49 percent of Wareham residents — 11,862 people — are fully vaccinated.

Of the 27 municipalities in Plymouth County reporting vaccination data to the state, Wareham has reported the second-lowest percentage of individuals with at least one dose. Only Middleborough had a lower percentage of individuals with at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine, at 52 percent.

Every other municipality in Plymouth County reported that at least 59 percent or more of its population had received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine.

Opportunities to get vaccinated

Local public health experts continue to encourage people to get the vaccine as soon as possible.

People aged 12 or older who live, work or study in Massachusetts are eligible to be vaccinated against covid-19. Those over the age of 18 can sign up to receive any vaccine, but those ages 12 to 17 can only get the Pfizer vaccine. 

In Wareham, the CVS on Main Street (419 Main St.), the CVS on Cranberry Highway (2421 Cranberry Hwy Ste 110) and the Walgreens on Marion Road (121 Marion Rd.) offer covid vaccines for walk-in visitors or by appointment. 

Those eligible for the vaccine can find appointments at providers around the state using the state’s website vaxfinder.mass.gov

The state has also set up a call center for those who are unable to access the vaccine appointment website or who have trouble navigating the complex online system.

From 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, people can call 211 and navigate to the vaccine help line by pressing two when prompted. The call center has workers on staff who speak English and Spanish, and there are translators available to support residents in about 100 additional languages.

For additional information about the available covid-19 vaccines, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/ or talk to your doctor.