The Jefferson County Health Department has reported 444 more COVID-19 cases since its last report on Jan. 8, bringing the total number of cases in the county to 18,615 since the first ones were reported in March.
Of the latest cases, 191 cases were from Jan. 8, another 120 were from Jan. 9 and 133 were from Sunday (Jan. 10).
The county has an estimated 1,049 active cases, the Health Department reported.
Brianne Zwiener, communications specialist with the Health Department, said the Health Department doesn’t follow up with all cases anymore, and the number of active cases is meant to give the public a “general estimate.”
Of the county’s total coronavirus cases, 1,198 have been at long-term care facilities, which includes residents and staff members who live in Jefferson County.
Of the 150 total COVID-19 deaths in the county, 64 have been from long-term care facilities, the Health Department reported.
Vaccines
Jeana Vidacak, the Health Department’s public health preparedness coordinator, said the agency is an approved vaccination site and hopes to soon receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
“We will be placing our first order shortly,” she said Jan. 6.
Vidacak said she hopes the order arrives by the end of January or the start of February.
She said the Health Department does not have the proper refrigerators to store the Pfizer vaccines, which needs to be stored at a much lower temperature than the Moderna vaccines, so the agency only plans to get the Moderna vaccines.
On Monday, the Health Department reported that it would work with Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City and Comtrea, which provides health care services around the county, to plan “unified efforts” for vaccine distribution to county residents.
The efforts will include developing a communication plan to inform residents about when they may receive vaccines, as well as a registration system to get the vaccines.
The three organizations are required to follow state guidelines about distributing vaccines to priority populations first.
The state currently is in Phase 1A of its four-phase distribution plan.
Phase 1A includes patient-facing health care workers; staff who come into contact with patients; and long-term care facility staff and residents, according to the Health Department.
Mercy Jefferson started vaccinating staff on Dec. 15, and county long-term care facilities are working with CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate residents and staff.
The next phase is 1B and includes high-risk people who are 18 to 64 years old; people older than 65; first responders; and essential workers.
Phase 2 includes populations at increased risk, which includes prisoners and homeless people. The last phase, which is Phase 3, includes all Missouri residents.
Red status
For the 10th consecutive week, the county remains at the red level on the Health Department’s COVID-19 warning system.
Red is the highest level on the Health Department’s four-color system and indicates widespread and uncontrolled transmission of the virus.
Several factors are evaluated when determining the color level, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and White House Pandemic Task Force guidelines. However, the main indicator is the seven-day rolling average. If the county has a rolling average of 25 or more cases per day per 100,000 residents, it is moved to the red level.
From Dec. 27 through Jan. 2, the seven-day rolling average number of cases in the county was 68.89 per day per 100,000 people in the county, which has a population of about 225,000.
That rolling average was up from the previous week, when it was 39.30 per day per 100,000 residents, the Health Department reported.
According to the Health Department, 39.30 was the lowest reported seven-day rolling average since October.
To control the spread of the virus, health officials urge residents to follow the county’s face mask order, which requires residents to wear face masks while in public spaces when social distancing cannot be maintained.
The Health Department also stresses the importance of limiting nonessential travel, avoiding crowds, social distancing, practicing good hand-washing and staying home if you are sick.
