Rockingham Times

With COVID-19 cases hitting new record highs to begin 2022, New Hampshire hopes its second Booster Blitz event will turn the tide.

“Looking to get your booster?" New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu tweeted Dec. 31. "We’ve got you covered with another Booster Blitz on Saturday, Jan. 8, with 14 locations across the state and 13,000-plus appointments available!”

Last Saturday, those 14 sites participated in the effort to put more shots in citizens’ arms, with thousands having made appointments, according to Manchester’s ABC affiliate WMUR9.

There were 17,208 active cases of COVID-19 confirmed as of Jan. 10, according to the New Hampshire COVID-19 Response dashboard.

There are at least 377 current COVID-19 hospitalizations and 2,935 cumulative deaths from the illness in New Hampshire.

Fallon Reed, chief of mitigation and recovery for New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management, advocated the booster shot as the public’s best chance to ward off the virus.

"The more folks who can get the booster vaccine, I think the better off we all are," Reed told WMUR9. "Certainly not only to protect yourself, but to protect your family and friends as well, who may not be able to get the booster or even get vaccinated due to health reasons."

New Hampshire has adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidelines for COVID-19 quarantine and isolation.

New Hampshire Public Radio reported that under the state’s new guidance, people who test positive for COVID-19 or are exposed to a person in their household who tests positive should quarantine or isolate for five days, instead of the previously recommended 10-day isolation period.