Seven Georgia counties labeled 'Delta danger zones,' experts say

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ATLANTA - Seven Georgia counties were in the top 20 "Delta danger zones" last week, according to CDC COVID-19 vaccination data analyzed by a national nonprofit group focused on solving public health issues.

Charlton County in southeast Georgia tops the list with an average of 62 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week. Only 14.5% of the county is fully vaccinated.

Lanier, Telfair, Heard, Jeff Davis, Treutlen and Bacon also appear on the list.

This is according to Surgo Ventures, a nonprofit organization that said it is dedicated to solving health and social problems with precision.

"We believe these 20 counties are Delta danger zones, which means they represent the strongest convergence of COVID-19 vulnerability, underlying community barriers to vaccine uptake, and low vaccination rates of all counties in the United States at this point in time," said Dr. Sema Sgaier, Co-Founder and CEO of Surgo Ventures and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "We are calling on public health officials and local leaders in these counties to take immediate action."

Surgo offers what it calls a 4-step blueprint to increase vaccinations to community leaders.

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As of 3 p.m. Monday, Georgia's two-week average for new cases has exceeded 1,000 for the first time since mid-March, according to data supplied by the Georgia Department of Public Health. Monday's 2-week average was 1,049.

Also not seen since mid-March, the number of current hospitalizations. Monday, the number increased to 1,394, according to the GDPH.

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As of Monday, nearly 4.6 million people which is close to 46% of all eligible people or 38% of the state’s total population are fully vaccinated, according to data provided by the GDPH and US Census.

"As COVID-19 cases are rising in all 50 states, I want to encourage all Georgians to talk with their doctor and get vaccinated," Gov. Brian Kemp wrote in a tweet on Monday.

Also Monday, the city of Savannah made masks mandatory to try to fight the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

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KEY: County, State | % of county population fully vaccinated | Average # of new cases per day per 100,000

1. Charlton, Georgia | 14.5% | 62
2. Newton, Texas | 17.3% | 51
3. Pemiscot, Missouri | 17.8% | 8
4. (tie) McDonald, Missouri | 18.4% | 28
4. (tie) Grundy, Tennessee | 18.4% | 7
6. Ziebach, South Dakota | 18.8% | 5
7. Hempstead, Arkansas | 19.1% | 10
8. Ripley, Missouri | 19.5% | 27
9. Lanier, Georgia | 19.8% | 7
10. Motley, Texas | 20% | 0
11. Baker, Florida | 20.1% | 75
12. Telfair, Georgia | 20.2% | 11
13. Heard, Georgia | 20.5% | 13
14. Holmes, Florida | 20.8% | 11
15. Washington, Florida | 21.3% | 26
16. Carter, Missouri | 21.4% | 77
17. Jeff Davis, Georgia | 21.4% | 9
18. Texas, Missouri | 21.5% | 37
19. Treutlen, Georgia | 21.6% | 29
20. Bacon, Georgia | 21.7% | 26