COVID cases continue to spike
New county cases
MARYVILLE, Mo. — The number of COVID-19 cases in Nodaway County continues to hit new highs.
The 72 new cases recorded on Monday eclipsed the previous single-day high of 71 set one week prior. Over the past seven days, the county has averaged 49 new cases of COVID-19 per day — prior to the first week of 2022, only two days had seen as many as 49 new cases, much less the average day during a week, according to the public Nodaway County COVID-19 dashboard maintained by Northwest Institutional Research at Northwest Missouri State University.
As of Jan. 17, the most recent data available from the Nodaway County Health Department, there were 235 active cases of COVID-19 in the county, continuing a trend of hovering around 100-250 active cases for several months.
Because of new, shorter isolation protocols, “active” cases are dispensed with more quickly than in the past. For example, most new cases recorded on Jan. 11 would no longer be considered active by Jan. 17 as long as the individual does not show symptoms.
More than 5,100 people in Nodaway County have tested positive for COVID-19 since spring 2020 — about one quarter of all residents.
In the most recent report, five people were hospitalized, continuing a trend of high hospitalizations over the past several months. Thirty-eight Nodaway County residents have died.
As the omicron variant spreads to unprecedented numbers of people globally and across the country, national and local health officials have continued to stress the importance of mitigation measures like wearing masks in public, social distancing and practicing good hygiene to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
Officials at Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville and the health department have reported that nearly all patients hospitalized locally are unvaccinated and vaccination can help avoid the worst outcomes.
“It continues to be true that the vast majority of cases of severe illnesses and deaths are unvaccinated,” said health department administrator Tom Patterson at a health department board meeting Wednesday. “… We’re asking people to be smart and take precautions when they’re out in public and close quarters, to practice good hygiene, stay home if you’re sick. You know, right now, in this environment, that’s the best we can do, and really it’s up to everybody to be smart. Just everywhere you’re at, be smart.”
Vaccinations
Individuals ages 5 and up are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all adults ages 18 and older should receive a booster shot for COVID-19, regardless of which vaccine an individual first received.
Those who received a Pfizer or Moderna vaccination series initially will become eligible six months after the final dose, and Johnson & Johnson recipients are eligible two months after receiving their shot.
As of Jan. 18, a total of 11,641 Nodaway County residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, or about 54.8 percent, according to the CDC’s online vaccination dashboard. About 49.3 percent of county residents — 10,463 — have been fully vaccinated. Of those who have been fully vaccinated, 4,137 have received a booster dose, or about 39.5 percent of fully vaccinated individuals in the county.
In Missouri, about 63.4 percent of residents have received at least one dose, and about 53.6 percent are fully vaccinated. Of the fully vaccinated, about 37.6 percent have received a booster.
Across the country, the CDC estimates 75.2 percent of Americans have received at least one dose, 63.1 percent have been fully vaccinated, and 38.7 percent of fully vaccinated individuals have received a booster.
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.
Testing
As numbers have been driven up across the country by the omicron variant, access to tests has become more difficult.
At a health department board meeting Wednesday, Patterson said the positivity rate has hovered around 33 percent, meaning that about a third of all tests for COVID-19 come back positive. That number only takes into account tests performed by agencies that report their totals to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and does not include, for example, at-home tests.
Patterson said the state’s supply of antigen tests — the kind of test used in rapid test kits that return results quickly — has dwindled significantly, and it is no longer able to reliably or consistently supply those tests to local agencies.
Bridget Kenny, community health nurse at MMC-M and a health department board member, said at Wednesday’s meeting that the hospital has had to pursue other ways of getting those tests instead of through the state.
Households, though, have a new option to obtain free tests: the federal government.
A new website — covidtests.gov — that launched Tuesday allows Americans to order up to four free rapid test kits per household. The website says orders will usually ship within 7-12 days, so officials suggest ordering the tests before they’re needed. There is no charge for the tests or for shipping.
