The Jefferson County Health Department reported 27 new COVID-19-related deaths in its latest weekly update released today (March 2). That was the highest number of deaths reported at one time since the pandemic began, said Brianne Zwiener, the Health Department’s public information officer.
COVID-19-related deaths typically are reported several weeks after they occur, she said.
With those new deaths, the county has seen a total of 500 residents who have died because of the virus since the start of the pandemic, the Health Department reported.
The latest deaths included a woman in her 40s, three men in their 50s, a woman in her 60s, two men in their 60s, a woman in her 70s, five men in their 70s, seven women in their 80s, four men in their 80s and three women in their 90s, according to the Health Department.
Despite the high number of new COVID-19-related deaths from the latest report, the Health Department said the county has seen a significant decrease in new coronavirus cases.
During the week of Feb. 20 to Feb. 26, the county had 153 new COVID-19 cases, down from the previous week when there were 277 new cases.
Of the most recent new cases, 62.1 percent was among unvaccinated people, 22.87 percent was among those with two vaccinations, and 15.03 percent was among people who had two vaccinations and a booster dose, the Health Department reported.
As of today, the county had seen a total of 52,758 coronavirus cases since the first ones were reported in March 2020, according to the Health Department.
Color status
After 31 consecutive weeks at the red and highest level on the Health Department’s four-color COVID-19 warning system, Jefferson County has dropped to the orange level. However, the Health Department is changing to the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) three-color system, which shows the county in the yellow level, which indicates medium transmission of the virus.
The CDC’s warning system also has a green level to show a low COVID-19 transmission rate and orange for a high transmission rate.
When a county is at the orange level, the CDC suggests masks be worn inside public buildings.
At the yellow level, the CDC says those who are at high risk for serious outcomes if they contract COVID-19 should talk with a health provider about whether they should wear masks.
The CDC also suggests everyone keep up with COVID-19 vaccinations, and anyone who shows COVID-19 symptoms should be tested.
The CDC announced its new online tool to determine county-by-county COVID-19 community levels on Feb. 25. People may check community transmission levels at cdc.gov.
Zwiener said the Health Department likely will stop using its own four-color system next week but continued to use its four-color system today when it reported the county’s transmission rate and percentage of positive COVID-19 tests.
The number of cases per 100,000 people in the county between Feb. 20 and Feb. 26 was 68, which was down from the previous week when there were 123.11 new cases per 100,000 people, the Health Department reported.
The county’s percentage of positive COVID-19 tests for Feb. 20 to Feb. 26 was 5.45 percent, which was down from the previous week when the positivity rate was 9.34 percent, according to the Health Department.
The number of cases per 100,000 people is at the orange level and the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests is in the yellow level on the Health Department’s four-color warning system.
Flu
The Health Department reported 28 new flu cases for the week of Feb. 20 to Feb. 26.
So far this flu season, the county has had a total of 1,052 flu cases, the Health Department reported.
Two people have died from the flu since the start of the flu season, which runs from Oct. 3 through May 21.
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, 50.13 percent of Jefferson County residents had received two vaccinations against COVID-19, which was up slightly from the previous week when 49.98 percent had them, the Health Department reported.
The agency also reported that 19.65 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.
