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NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell is urging residents to get their COVID vaccine booster shots as cases in the city continue to climb.
The City of New Bedford has been averaging 365 new cases of COVID per day over the last two weeks and is facing a whopping 29.9 percent average positivity rate, according to the mayor's office. This rate is more than double the Commonwealth's rate of 13.7 percent.
Along with these rising cases, the city is also facing lagging vaccination and booster shots numbers. More than 55 percent of New Bedford residents are fully vaccinated, but only 19.5 percent of residents have received a booster, which is well below the state booster shot rate of 46 percent.
"If you got those original shots but you haven't gotten your booster now some six months later, it's time to get it in there," Mayor Mitchell said in his latest COVID update.
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Vaccination data for the city of New Bedford shows younger age groups may be holding back the city's booster rate.
Less than 10 percent of residents ages 12 to 19 and around 14 percent of residents ages 30 to 49 years old have their booster shots already. Meanwhile, 47 percent of residents ages 65 to 74 and 46 percent of residents over the age of 75 got their booster shots.
In an effort to get more residents boosted, the City of New Bedford will be offering vaccination clinics throughout the city on Monday and Wednesday through Friday.
WBZ's Tim Dunn (@ConsiderMeDunn) reports.
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