The Jefferson County Health Department has reported four more COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of county residents who have died from the virus to 350 since the pandemic began.
Those four deaths include a woman in her 50s, a man in his 60s, a man in his 70s and a man in his 80s.
During the week of Nov. 7 to Nov. 13, the county had 460 new COVID-19 cases, which was up from the previous week, when 365 new cases were reported.
Of the most recent 460 cases, 78.5 percent was among unvaccinated people, and 21.5 percent was breakthrough cases, meaning cases among those who had been vaccinated, according to the Health Department.
The Health Department has also reported five long-term care facilities outbreaks. An outbreak is defined as one or more positive cases among the long-term care facility residents or employees, said Brianne Zwiener, the Health Department’s public communications officer.
The Health Department reported 108 new youth cases between Nov. 7 and Nov. 13, which was down from the prior week, when there were 110 new youth cases.
As of today (Nov. 17), the county had seen a total of 33,770 coronavirus cases since the first ones were reported in March 2020, the report said.
Red status
For a 17th consecutive week, the county is in the red status on the Health Department’s COVID-19 warning system. Red is the highest level on the four-color system and indicates high transmission of the virus in the community.
The number of cases per 100,000 people for Nov. 7 to Nov. 13 was 204.44, which was up from the previous week when there were 162.22, new cases per 100,000 people, the Health Department reported.
The county’s percentage of positive COVID-19 tests for Nov. 7 to Nov. 13 was 10.86 percent, which was up from the prior week at about 8.43 percent. From Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, the county’s COVID-19 test positivity rate was in the orange level for a second week, but it rose to the red status for the week of Nov. 7 to Nov. 13.
The Health Department uses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) metrics to set the color level, and the community status is calculated using both the seven-day total of new cases per 100,000 residents and the percentage of positive tests. If the metrics have different color levels, the Health Department uses the higher color in the four-color system to determine the county color status.
Both metrics are in red so the county remains in the red status.
New dashboard
The Health Department has updated its COVID-19 dashboard to include initiated vaccination rate, which includes those who got a first vaccine. It also includes active cases for students at county school districts, who tested positive over the past 10 days.
The new dashboard also reports the county’s COVID-19 test positivity rate in a different way, updating it daily. The latest positivity rate is 11.07 percent, according to the Health Department.
The new dashboard can be found at jeffcohealth.org/covid19-data.
Vaccines
Health officials urge residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine and to take other steps to limit the spread of the virus, including wearing masks and social distancing.
As of today, 44.35 percent of Jefferson County residents was vaccinated, which was up slightly from the week before, when 43.95 percent was vaccinated, according to the Health Department.
Most of the COVID-19 vaccines recently administered in Jefferson County have been booster doses, the Health Department reported.
People may get a vaccine at a Health Department vaccine clinic set for 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 18) at the agency’s High Ridge office, 5684 Hwy. PP, to receive a first, second, third, or booster dose of Moderna and Johnson and Johnson. Walk-ins are welcome, but an appointment is strongly encouraged. To schedule an appointment, call 636-797-3737.
Booster COVID-19 vaccines for eligible adults are available anywhere the vaccine is available. People also may get any of the vaccines, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson or Pfizer, for their booster shot.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is now available to children between 5-11.
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.
