Active COVID-19 cases are continuing to go up and are at 147 as of yesterday for our county. We have one death to report. One week ago we had 83 active cases. These cases reflect only the reported COVID-19 positive tests, and that data can lag behind. There are many people that may have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic and don’t test. Public health recommendations as Delta cases continue to spread are to practice sanitation precautions, cleaning frequently touched surfaces, staying out of crowds and yes wearing a mask. Sounds all too familiar again, but the virus is more contagious than before and even the vaccinated should take precautions until cases go down. Why should the vaccinated need to wear a mask or be concerned? Some vaccinated are getting sick and testing positive. The good news is that they aren’t the ones going to the hospital; the vast majority are still the unvaccinated that are at greatest risk of severe illness. Most of us know someone right now who is sick or has been in the hospital with COVID. We need to take it serious and pay attention to what is going on. We all have better things to do than keep talking about COVID, so go get vaccinated, no one is Superman, that’s only in the movies.
As I say every week, getting vaccinated is the number one precaution to take and should keep you out of the hospital. Remember if you get vaccinated now, you have two weeks after the second dose of Moderna or Pfizer for the vaccine to give you the best protection. More good news, we have seen an increase in vaccinations late last week and are hopeful to see more locals visit us at the Health Unit this week.
Schools are getting ready for kids to show up, there are no mask mandates but schools will be doing all they can to keep kids safe. As parents, you can choose to send your student to school with a mask and send hand sanitizer and teach them how to protect themselves. Keep them home when they are sick. I will be sending my child to school with a mask and hoping that cases will come back down soon, but until then, I would prefer not to get COVID-19 again in my household and deal with quarantines, isolation and illness. It’s going to be a rough start to school this year, so do what you can to help out our teachers and school staff.
Medina County Health Unit COVID-19 Vaccine Opportunities:
The Medina County Health Unit is taking walk-ins for COVID vaccine Monday-Thursday, 7:30am-11:00am and 1:00pm-5:30pm. Pfizer doses available upon appointment.
COVID-19 vaccine available: the two-dose Pfizer vaccine for ages 12 and older; the two-dose Moderna vaccine for ages 18 and older; and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for ages 18 and older.
DATA UPDATE:
Texas has a current rate of 52.77% of people that are fully vaccinated age 12 and older. Medina County currently has 47.33% fully vaccinated. As school is around the corner, we have 698 12-15 yr. olds vaccinated in our county with at least one dose so far (good news again).
Medina County COVID-19 Vaccine Data as of 8/1/2021 (change from 7/26)
People fully vaccinated: 20,870 (up from 20,527)
People 12 years of age and older in our county who could get vaccinated: 44,092
Estimated coverage: (Percentage of people 12 years of age who are fully vaccinated) 47.33% (up from 46.55%)
Medina County COVID-19 Case Data as of 8/1/2021
Confirmed Cases: 3,647
Probable Cases: 1,426
Fatalities: 108
Active Cases (estimated): 147
Recovered (estimated): 4,808
Press Release
By Trish Mechler
Medina County Health Unit
