A look at major COVID-19 developments over the past week

First the good news: The number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have fallen significantly in recent weeks, which could mean the post-holiday surge is abating.

Now the bad: Friday, Georgia recorded the most COVID-19 deaths — 187 — since the start of the pandemic.

And public health officials are worried that, now with a more contagious strain of the virus circulating, another wave could be coming.

The coronavirus variant originally discovered in the United Kingdom is spreading throughout metro Atlanta, with 45 cases confirmed in the area, according to state Department of Public Health data released on Friday.

The 45 confirmed cases is believed to be a fraction of the true statewide figure. Georgia Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said the British variant is likely widespread in Georgia already.

Unlike some other countries, the U.S. doesn’t do much of the testing that finds variants, called genomic sequencing.

Here’s a look at major developments related to COVID-19.

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

Officials grapple with vaccine equity concerns

Top Georgia officials vowed to work toward a more equitable distribution of the vaccines that fight COVID-19, which has disproportionately affected communities of color. The push for more balance, however, is bogged down by limited supply and little data.

During a visit to the Morehouse School of Medicine, Gov. Brian Kemp pledged the state will be a “willing partner” to team with trusted organizations, including charities, local officials and churches, to ensure vulnerable populations have more access to the vaccine.

But the state still doesn’t gather detailed data on the race and ethnicity of vaccine recipients, hobbling the efforts to balance inequities.

Across the nation, only about half of all states have vaccination breakdowns by race.

The data that is available shows 60% of those who got the shots were white, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 11.5% of the recipients were Hispanic; 6%, Asian; and 5.4%, Black. About 14% were categorized as multiple or other race, the report said.

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com

More cases of line jumping for vaccine

The immediate family members of those who work for the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department were allowed access to COVID-19 vaccinations, despite state health department rules that are supposed to limit inoculations right now to certain prioritized groups.

As soon as they got the go-ahead, some fire department officials took their spouses or other family members to get the shots and urged others to do so, according to a fire department source who spoke on the condition of not being named.

The mayor’s office did not respond to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about whether the city had consulted with the state before allowing the vaccinations, or how many people who were not eligible had received shots.

Eligibility for vaccines is currently limited to residents and workers at a long-term care facility; first responders; front-line health workers; those 65 or older and their caregivers.

There are two other known violations of the state’s rules. At an Elbert County clinic, a doctor decided to vaccinate local school district employees . And at Floyd Medical Center in Rome, the hospital vaccinated family members of their employees. The Elbert County doctor has had his vaccines seized, and the Floyd County incident is under review by the state health department.

CDC study: two masks better than one

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday reported the results of a lab experiment that found two masks are better than one in slowing the spread of the coronavirus. A good fit is key for maximum protection against the virus.

In lab tests with dummies, researchers found that wearing one mask — surgical or cloth — blocked around 40% of the coronavirus particles coming toward the head that was breathing in. When a cloth mask was worn on top of a surgical mask, about 80% were blocked.

And when both the exhaling and inhaling heads were double-masked, more than 95% of the particles were blocked, according to the CDC.

Staff writers Greg Bluestein, Eric Stirgus, Ariel Hart, Stephen Deere, J. Scott Trubey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.