The Jefferson County Health Department has reported 23 more COVID-19-related deaths, the largest number of deaths the agency has reported at one time, public information officer Brianne Zwiener said today (Feb. 2).
The Health Department reports COVID-19 deaths once a week, but those deaths usually are from the previous few weeks, she added.
The latest COVID-19 deaths include a man in his 40s, two women in their 50s, five men in their 50s, five women in their 60s, three men in their 60s, a woman in her 70s, four men in their 80s, a woman in her 90s and a man in his 90s.
Zwiener said the Health Department no longer is able to report if a death is connected to a long-term care facility because the agency’s recent order related to communicable diseases does not include COVID-19, so the department is not investigating individual COVID-19 cases.
With the latest 23 deaths, the county has seen a total of 439 people die from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
During the week of Jan. 23 to Jan. 29, the county had 1,684 new COVID-19 cases, down from the previous week when there were 2,495 new cases.
“This is the third week in a row we have seen a decrease in weekly cases,” said Sara Wilton, Health Department epidemiologist.
Of the most recent new cases, 62.59 percent was among unvaccinated people, 26.9 percent was among those with two vaccinations, and 10.51 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 (Feb. 1), the county had seen a total of 50,986 coronavirus cases since the first ones were reported, according to the Health Department.
Red status
For the 28th 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. 23 to Jan. 29 was 748.44, which was down from the previous week when there were 1,108.89 new cases per 100,000 people, the Health Department reported.
The county’s percentage of positive COVID-19 tests for Jan. 23 to Jan. 29 was 30.61 percent, which was down from the previous week when the positivity rate was 36.49 percent, according to the Health Department.
Flu
The Health Department reported 25 new flu cases for the week of Jan. 23 to Jan. 29, which was down from the previous week, Jan. 16 to Jan. 22, when 48 cases were reported.
So far this flu season, the county has had a total of 975 cases, the Health Department reported.
Two people have died from the flu since the start of the season, which runs from Oct. 3 through May 21.
Of the flu cases this season, 93 percent have been Type A and the rest Type B.
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, 49.18 percent of Jefferson County residents had received two vaccinations against COVID-19, which was up slightly from the previous week when 48.9 percent had them, the Health Department reported.
The agency also reported that 18.45 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.
The Health Department offices will be closed Thursday (Feb. 2) due to wintry weather forecasts.
