The Jefferson County Health Department has reported six more COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of county residents who have died from the virus to 335 since the pandemic began.
Those six deaths include a man in his 40s, a woman in her 50s, a man in his 50s, a man in his 70s and two men in their 90s.
During the week of Oct. 24 to Oct. 30, the county had 348 new COVID-19 cases, which was up from the previous week, when 341 cases were reported.
Of those 348 cases, 77.01 percent was among unvaccinated people, and 22.99 percent was breakthrough cases, meaning cases among those who had been vaccinated, according to the Health Department.
Sara Wilton, the Health Department epidemiologist, said while case numbers are up a bit, youth cases have decreased since the previous week.
The Health Department reported 72 new youth cases between Oct. 24 and Oct. 30, and the prior week there were 82 new youth cases.
As of today (Nov. 3), the county had seen a total of 32,894 coronavirus cases since the first ones were reported in March 2020, the report said.
Red status
For a 15th 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 Oct. 24 to Oct. 30 was 154.67, which was up from the previous week when there were 151.56 new cases per 100,000 people, the Health Department reported.
The county’s percentage of positive COVID-19 tests for Oct. 24 to Oct. 30 was about 9.1 percent, which was up from the prior week at 7.7 percent, which means the county moved up into the orange level. Last week the percentage of positive tests was in the yellow level, which is the second lowest level on the four-color system.
While the percent positivity is in the orange status, overall the county is still considered in the red status, according to the report.
The Health Department uses Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) metrics to set the level of community transmission, and 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 status, the Health Department will use the higher color in the four-color system to determine the county color status.
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, 43.91 percent of Jefferson County residents was vaccinated, which was up slightly from the week before, when 43.16 percent was vaccinated, according to the Health Department.
Today, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced children 5 to 11 years-old are now eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
“While it is less common for a child to become severely ill or need hospitalization due to COVID-19, that risk certainly does exist, which became more evident during the recent Delta variant surge,” Donald Kauerauf, DHSS director said. “The Delta variant is still prevalent among COVID-19 cases, and it is impacting people differently than what we witnessed a year ago. Also, we know kids can and do spread the virus and can unknowingly cause severe illness in others including senior citizens and at risk populations.”
In clinical trials, the Pfizer vaccine was found to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 infection in children 5 to 11, according to the DHSS statement.
“As a parent myself, I understand the concerns about vaccinating their young children,” Kauerauf said. “It is important to make an informed decision based on factual, scientific information, not what is available in a social media feed. I highly encourage parents to discuss their child’s vaccination with their pediatrician or trusted medical professional.”
Brianne Zwiener, public communications officer with the Health Department said the department does not have any Pfizer doses for children 5 to 11 yet, but plans to order some soon.
Booster COVID-19 vaccines for eligible adults also are available anywhere the vaccine is available. Also, people may get any of the vaccines, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson or Pfizer, for their booster shot.
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.
