Atlanta

Metro Atlanta hospital starting to see COVID-19 reinfections

ATLANTA — Some metro Atlanta hospitals are starting to see patients getting COVID-19 a second time.

Channel 2′s Carol Sbarge was at a Wellstar System hospital Friday, where the medical director said they are already seeing reinfections.

Dr. Danny Branstetter said people who had documented cases in June and July last year are sick again. Branstetter said he is worried that cases at the hospital seem to have plateaued and are not dropping. He encourages people to get vaccinated.

[SPECIAL SECTION: COVID-19 Vaccine in Georgia]

“I do think we’re still seeing a lot of transmission in our communities that can be reduced even further,” Branstetter said.

In the past five days, the positivity rate in Georgia has moved back above 5% four out of five days.

Branstetter considers it a trend if you have six days in a row of certain numbers.

Sbarge asked Branstetter about how the new variants could be factoring in, and what people can do to protect themselves.

[LINK: Where to find the COVID-19 vaccine in Georgia]

“The same preventative measures for the variants is still the same that we’re doing the whole pandemic,” Branstetter said.

Branstetter stressed how important it is to reach herd immunity, and he’s just hoping more people who have vaccine hesitancy decide to get it.

Sbarge talked to Kamill Price, who got vaccinated even though she already had COVID.

“I got COVID last year, so I definitely got my first shot,” Price said. “Because I want to do anything to not get it.”

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