Mocs News Reporting the news that matters most to UTC
CHATTANOOGA, TN (mocsnews.com)- If you haven’t known by now COVID-19 is a part of each one of our lives. COVID-19, has affected each of us emotionally and physically. Coronavirus has played a part in our daily lives, stopping us from doing normal things such as working at our jobs, kids not being able to go to school five-days a week, and U.S citizens not being able to do the things they love. But what If you get back to normal? Data show the U.S is making progress to get there.
According to a news interview on Politico with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who serves as the Director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, says that “COVID-19 cases are trending in the right direction, but people should be careful to not declare victory [just yet].” To think COVID cases are trending down right around us. Georgia and Tennessee, where most of UTC students live in, cases are trending down. Data show for both Georgia and Tennessee according to the Mayo Clinic, first for the state of Georgia, the average positivity test rate currently dropping to 3.99% compared to September 4th, where it was at 17.66%. As for Tennessee, the state is slowly declining as well currently dropping to 5.87% compared to September 4th when it was 20.05%.
How are we seeing COVID cases declining? Being fully vaccinated is the big reason why. Last year, U.S citizens was given the answer to slow the spread of COVID-19 by not just wearing their mask. People could choose from a variety of vaccines where they can choose from such as Pfizer- BioNTech vaccination, Moderna-NIAID vaccination, and the Johnson and Johnson vaccination. Many companies are still working currently to supply another vaccination to the public. There is still a need to get the message out to Americans to get vaccinated. Dr. Fauci also said they have been trying “hard” to get the message out to unvaccinated people as he stated in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Fauci also noted on CNN that “vaccines do work.”
Jake Redforn, a junior communications major student at UTC, says he “trust” the news cooperation and he was very confident about getting the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. “I got the vaccine to lessen the anxiety of going out in public, I got tired of staying at home and to gain that social ability back I just wanted to be as protected as I could as well as enjoying my life.”
According to the data from John Hopkins Hospital, deaths are slowing decreasing. Since they are decreasing, Chris Figgures, another junior communications major student said he want to be “protected and vaccinated” since deaths and cases trending down, he wanted to do best thing and that is “protect” his family and keep them safe from coronavirus.
Medical experts still recommend that citizens still wear mask and social distance if you haven’t received any vaccine, so cases won’t spike up like before. The best days are ahead. Kaeli Lawrence, a dental hygiene student at Chattanooga State, says “I think last year we already went through the worst. This year is a mixture of worst, but we are gradually becoming better. Right now, I feel like we are getting better because vaccines are being mandatory.”
The United States is on the road to recovery from the pandemic as President Biden has recently issued a vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more workers and the CDC gave emergency use for kids 5-11 to get vaccinated. Soon we shall see the light at the end of the tunnel and the end of a deadly pandemic.
