COVID-19 cases highest since last winter

FORUM FILE PHOTO
A local health care professional prepares a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Nodaway County saw its highest single-day total of new COVID-19 cases in a year this week, and the number of active cases is now higher than at any point since the worst months of the pandemic last fall and winter.

The active case count has continued its sharp increase over the past month, but has risen even more precipitously over the last week, averaging 18 new cases per day. As of Nov. 15, the most recent data available from the Nodaway County Health Department, the county’s active case count reached 142 — the highest total of active COVID-19 cases in the county since Dec. 11, 2020, according to the online Nodaway County COVID-19 dashboard maintained by Northwest Missouri State University.

The 27 new cases tallied on Nov. 15 is also the highest single-day total since Nov. 24, 2020.

“This variant likes groups, so when it comes into a home or a group setting, then more people in the group get it,” said Tom Patterson, health department administrator, during a county health board meeting Wednesday. “So you can almost guarantee that if you get it at home, then you’re all going to get it. A lot of our cases, like this 27 cases, there might be several families in that, so it may not represent 27 different situations, it might be five different situations — you might have two or three households with four or five people in it to make up over half of it.”

For the health department, the added contact caseload has also strained its contact tracing efforts. Typically, the department works with about 10 nurses from around the county who work alongside the health department’s own nurses on contact tracing. But those outside nurses — many of them school nurses — have their own jobs and obligations that can make a sharp, sustained case increase like the one happening now difficult to handle — Patterson estimated 27 new casess could mean as many as 300 close contacts to track down. To shoulder the extra load, the health department’s nurses have continued to work overtime, as they have throughout the pandemic.

During the board meeting Wednesday, the health board authorized Patterson to pursue a third-party contact tracing service, which is widely used by other agencies across Missouri. The state provides a database of vetted vendors who provide the service and are set up to report statistics to the state. Patterson will also look into hiring locally at a similar hourly rate as what’s charged by the services — somewhere around $40 per hour, Patterson estimated — but long-term, he said using a service would be more convenient since caseloads may ebb and flow over time, likely making any local hire temporary.

In the most recent report, six were hospitalized, and 34 have died since counting began last spring.

Vaccinations

As of Nov. 16, a total of 10,710 Nodaway County residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, or about 50.4 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s online vaccination dashboard. About 46.6 percent of county residents — 9,899 — have been fully vaccinated.

Missouri overall is at about 50.3 percent fully vaccinated, and about 58.2 percent have received at least one dose. Across the country, the CDC estimates 59 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated, and 68.7 percent have received at least one dose.

Individuals ages 5 and up are now eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Booster shots are also available regardless of which vaccine an individual first received. For individuals who completed a Pfizer or Moderna vaccination series at least six months ago, anyone age 65 or older, and anyone 18 or older with an underlying medical condition or who lives or works in a high-risk setting is eligible to get a booster shot of their choice.

The CDC also recommends that anyone who received a Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago receive a booster shot.

Contact the Nodaway County Health Department at 660-562-2755 to make an appointment for vaccination or for more information.

For more information on booster shots, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html.