The Jefferson County Health Department has reported 11 more COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of county residents who have died because of the virus to 473 since the start of the pandemic.
The latest COVID-19 deaths include a woman in her 50s, a man in his 50s, a woman in her 60s, two men in their 60s, two women in their 70s, two men in their 70s, a woman in her 80s and a man in his 80s.
The Health Department also has reported a significant decrease in new coronavirus cases.
During the week of Feb. 6 to Feb. 12, the county had 510 new COVID-19 cases, a 38.7 percent decrease from the previous week when there were 814 new cases.
“The last time we saw a weekly case count in the 500s was 2021 Week 47 (Nov. 21 - Nov. 27),” said Sara Wilton, epidemiologist for the Health Department
Of the most recent new cases, 61.96 percent was among unvaccinated people, 25.89 percent was among those with two vaccinations, and 12.15 percent was among people who had two vaccinations and a booster dose, the Health Department reported.
As of today (Feb. 16), the county had seen a total of 52,278 coronavirus cases since the first ones were reported, according to the Health Department.
Red status
For the 30th consecutive week, the county is in the red status on the Health Department’s COVID-19 warning system.
The number of cases per 100,000 people for Feb. 6 to Feb. 12 was 226.67, which was down from the previous week when there were 361.78 new cases per 100,000 people, the Health Department reported.
The county’s percentage of positive COVID-19 tests for Feb. 6 to Feb. 12 was 14.72 percent, which was down from the previous week when the positivity rate was 23.41 percent, according to the Health Department.
Flu
The Health Department reported 12 new flu cases for the week of Feb. 6 to Feb. 12.
So far this flu season, the county has had a total of 1,001 flu cases, the Health Department reported.
Two people have died from the flu since the start of the flu season, which runs from Oct. 3 through May 21.
Vaccines
Health officials urge residents to get vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19 and to take other steps to limit the spread of the diseases, including frequent hand-washing, wearing masks and social distancing.
As of today, 49.83 percent of Jefferson County residents had received two vaccinations against COVID-19, which was up slightly from the previous week when 49.46 percent had them, the Health Department reported.
The agency also reported that 19.30 percent of county residents had received their booster vaccines, according to the Health Department.
People may sign up for a vaccine appointment through the Health Department by going to the state vaccine Navigator website at covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator. Or they may call 877-435-8411. Or, to find another local vaccine site, visit vaccinefinder.org.
