The Jefferson County Health Department has reported eight more COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of people in the county who have died from the virus to 406 since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
The latest COVID-19 deaths include a woman in her 40s, a woman in her 50s, two men in their 50s, a man in his 60s, two men in their 70s and a woman in her 80s.
None of those deaths were connected to long-term care facilities, the Health Department reported.
During the week of Jan. 9 to Jan. 15, the county had 2,766 new COVID-19 cases, slightly down from the previous week when there were 2,806 new cases.
“This is a slight decrease in weekly cases from Week 1; however, we do know that difficulty finding testing and the increased use of home tests could be affecting this number,” said Sara Wilton, Health Department epidemiologist.
Health Department public information officer Brianne Zwiener said the 2,806 cases reported the week of Jan. 2 to Jan. 8 was the highest number of cases reported in a single week since the first ones were reported in March 2020.
Of the most recent new cases, 62.08 percent was among unvaccinated people, 30.15 percent was among those with two vaccinations, and 7.77 percent was among people who had two vaccinations and a booster dose.
“This data shows the effectiveness of vaccination and booster doses against contracting COVID-19,” Wilton said. “We strongly encourage individuals who are eligible for a booster dose to get that as soon as possible.”
As of Tuesday (Jan. 18), the county had seen a total of 45,545 coronavirus cases since the first ones were reported, according to the Health Department.
Tests
The White House now has a program that allows people to request four at-home COVID-19 tests be mailed to them for free from covidtest.gov.
Zwiener said one request is allowed for every address.
She said the Health Department has an online form for people to report positive at-home test results. Filling out the form is voluntary, she said.
Zwiener said the department’s data team looks at every submission and checks the information before possibly adding a case to the county’s probable case count.
“Just because someone reports an at-home test does not mean it’s automatically added to our data,” she said.
President Joe Biden’s administration announced this week that free N-95 masks will be to people.
Red status
For the 26th 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 Jan. 9 to Jan. 15 was 1,229.33, which was down from the previous week when there were 1,247 new cases per 100,000 people, the Health Department reported.
The county’s percentage of positive COVID-19 tests for Jan. 9 to Jan. 15 was 37.87 percent, according to the dashboard, which was down from the previous week when the positivity rate was 38.87 percent.
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.
Flu
The Health Department reported 40 new flu cases for the second week of 2022, from Jan. 9 to Jan. 15.
The 40 cases reported Jan. 9 to Jan. 15 is down from the previous week, Jan. 2 to Jan. 8, when 73 cases were reported.
A total of 56 cases were added to the total number of flu cases this season since the Health Department’s report last week (Jan. 12).
So far this flu season, which began Oct. 3 and ends May 21, the county has had a total of 891 cases, the Health Department reported.
Of the flu cases this season, 93 percent have been Type A and the rest Type B.
One flu-related death has been reported this season – a woman in her 30s.
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, 48.57 percent of Jefferson County residents had received two vaccinations against COVID-19, which was up slightly from the previous week when 48.19 percent had them, the Health Department reported.
The agency also reported that 16.93 percent of county residents had received their booster vaccines, according to the Health Department.
“Though we are seeing an increase in cases and positivity rate over the last few weeks, we have not seen an increase in our vaccination rate,” Wilton said. “Vaccination is our best prevention measure because it prevents severe illness and death.”
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.
