Prowers County Dept. Public Health and Environment – COVID-19 Update, 12/1/21

The Prowers County Department of Public Health and Environment reported that as of December 1, 2021, the seven-day average Test Positivity rate is 9.07% (goal is <5%). This is up from 7.06% last week.  There have been 45 cases in the past seven days with 10 vaccinated and 84 cases in the past 14 days with 13 vaccinated.  Two hospitalized patients total have been vaccinated.

The current number of cumulative cases is 1,949, up 45 from the previous week of 1,904.  Hospitalizations are up to 141, an increase of two from the same period and deaths are up three, to 38 in people who tested positive for COVID-19.

FREE community testing for all is available at High Plains Community Health Center Monday through Friday at 11:00AM. They are closed tomorrow in observance of Veterans Day. If you think you may have COVID-19, have been exposed or require testing for any reason, call public health directly at 336-8721 to schedule. If you are having severe symptoms such as significant trouble breathing, etc. call 911. The state is renewing its contracts to continue this availability at least through February 2022.

As of 11/28/2021, 52.6% of eligible Prowers County residents have gotten at least 1 dose of vaccine, up from 52.3% last week.

You should get a booster dose if you:

• If you received Pfizer or Moderna for your first two doses you should receive your booster dose at least six months after your second dose of vaccine, no matter what vaccine product you receive as a booster.
• If you received Johnson & Johnson for your initial dose, you should receive your booster dose at least two months after your first dose, no matter what vaccine product you receive as a booster.

Omicron variant: A new variant of concern was detected last week. Variants of Concern are so named if there is suspicion that they are more transmissible, cause more severe disease or impact the effectiveness of testing, treatments or vaccines. There is still a lot to learn about how this may impact our response. As of now, it appears that there will be no difficulty in detecting the virus with currently available tests. The vaccine is more important than ever to slow spread! Zero cases of omicron have been isolated in the US.

For additional information, call the county health department at 336-8721.