The Jefferson County Health Department has reported seven more COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of county residents who have died from the virus to 378 since the pandemic began.
Those seven deaths include two men in their 70s, a woman in her 70s, two men in their 80s, a woman in her 80s and a man in his 90s.
Three of those deaths were connected to long-term care facilities.
During the week of Dec. 12 to Dec. 18, the county had 909 new cases, up from the previous week when there were 855 new COVID-19 cases.
Of the most recent 909 new cases, 76.6 percent was among unvaccinated people, and 23.4 percent was breakthrough cases, meaning cases among those who had been vaccinated, according to the Health Department.
As of today (Dec. 22), the county had seen a total of 37,701 coronavirus cases since the first ones were reported in March 2020, the report said.
Red status
For the 22nd 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 Dec. 12 to Dec. 18 was 404, which is up from the previous week when there were 380 new cases per 100,000 people, the Health Department reported.
The county’s percentage of positive COVID-19 tests for Dec. 12 to Dec. 18 was 14.86 percent, which is up from the prior week when it was 14.5 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 190 new flu cases for the week of Dec. 12 to Dec. 18, bringing the current season total to 344 cases, the Health Department reported.
The flu report included some additional cases from previous weeks. For the week of Nov. 28, a total of 39 cases were reported, and a total of 79 cases were reported for the week of Dec. 5.
“Based on the previous few weeks of drastic increases, it appears we are on our way to an early peak this flu season,” said Sara Wilton, the Health Department’s epidemiologist. “We really haven’t seen a peak this early in the season since the 2017-2018 flu season in which the predominant strain was H3N2, the same that is primarily circulating so far this year.”
She said the 2017-2018 season was a record-setting year. The worst flu season on record in Jefferson County was the 2017-2018 season with 3,982 cases and 16 deaths, according to Health Department reports. The 2019-2020 flu season in Jefferson county was the second highest flu season on record, with a total of 2,932 cases, four flu-related deaths and one outbreak at a long-term care facility, according to the Health Department.
“The combination of potentially high influenza-related hospitalizations and already high COVID-related hospitalizations, threatens to burden the healthcare systems this winter,” Wilton said. “We cannot stress enough the importance of vaccinating against both viruses and continuing other prevention measures such as masking and hand-washing.”
So far this season, a total of 302 type A flu cases and 42 type B cases have been reported in the county.
No flu deaths have been reported this season, which began Oct. 3 and runs through May 21.
Vaccines
Health officials urge residents to get vaccinated against both COVID-19 and the flu and to take other steps to limit the spread of the both, including frequent hand-washing, wearing masks and social distancing.
As of today, 47.04 percent of Jefferson County residents was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which was up slightly from the week before, when 46.48 percent was vaccinated, according to the Health Department.
Health officials also recommend anyone who is 18 and older to get a COVID-19 booster vaccine.
As of today, 12.64 percent of people have received their booster vaccine, 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.
