Fewer Than 100 New COVID-19 Cases Reported In Montgomery County

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County has reported fewer than 100 new cases for the third time since mid-February — a hopeful sign as more COVID-19 vaccines become available to residents.

On Wednesday, health officials added 96 new infections, pushing the county's cumulative total to 63,595.

Daily cases continue to trend downward since reaching their peak of 639 on Jan. 10. In the last 15 days, they've dipped into the double digits three times — on Feb. 16, Feb. 22, and March 3.

According to the Maryland Department of Health, two more Montgomery County residents have died from the virus overnight. The local death toll now sits at 1,375.

Across Maryland, there have been 383,956 cases and 7,737 confirmed deaths. Like the county, Maryland has seen a drop in infections and fatalities in recent weeks:

COVID-19 Metrics Improve As Vaccine Rollout Continues

During a COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said metrics are heading in the right direction, but aren't moving as fast as people would like.

"Things are definitely improving. Not as fast as people would like, but they're improving as fast as they can improve," Elrich said. "Because — at the end of the day — our ability to vaccinate people depends on the ability of pharmaceutical companies to provide vaccines."

The county gets its vaccine supply from the state. And the state gets its supply from the federal government. At this time, the federal government is giving Maryland about 12,000 doses per day.

As of Wednesday, Maryland has administered 1,394,725 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among those, 900,458 were first doses and 494,267 were second doses.

In Montgomery County, 161,337 residents (15.3 percent) have received their first dose. A total of 79,902 residents (7.6 percent) have already gotten their second and final shot.

Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Rollout

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Monday that the state will begin deploying 49,600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week.

Montgomery County should receive about 1,600 doses in the coming days, according to health officer Dr. Travis Gayles.

There are three vaccines currently available in the United States. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two shots, while the one from J&J needs one.

Clinical trials did show the J&J vaccine as being less effective against the virus compared with the vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer. The company said the vaccine has a 72 percent efficacy rate among trial participants in the U.S., but is about 85 percent effective against the most severe forms of the virus. Moderna and Pfizer tout efficacy rates at or near 95 percent.

Based on the findings, some people worry they're being offered a second-rate vaccine. But health officials, including Gayles, beg to differ.

Gayles said the J&J shot is 100 percent effective against hospitalizations and deaths and does what it needs to keep people safe.

"A month after receiving the single dose of the vaccine, the data shows there were no hospitalizations related to COVID. That's important to note because it suggests that protection against the virus comes at a quicker time period ... in comparison to the two-dose regimen," he said. "Again, it is effective at preventing severe illness secondary to COVID-19, if one gets it, and very good at preventing fatalities and COVID-related hospitalizations. And that's ultimately the goal of the vaccine — to keep people safe."

While none of the vaccines are 100 percent effective against COVID-19, they all meet the 50 percent efficacy threshold established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Like Gayles, health officials across the country say it shouldn't matter which vaccine you take.

"The best vaccine is the one that you can get, as soon as you can," Dr. Ben Singer, who treats coronavirus patients at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, told Patch.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said he would take the vaccine himself if that were the one offered to him.

"If I would go to a place where they had J&J, I would have no hesitancy whatsoever to take it," Fauci said while on NBC News' "Meet The Press" this past weekend.

The differences between the vaccines are mainly for those administering, Singer said.

"As long as the vaccinating facility is able to keep track of all that, from an individual's standpoint I think it should be pretty straightforward, and they shouldn't have to be overly concerned with getting one versus the other, just following the directions," he said.