Medina County’s active COVID-19 case count for October 4th is way down, from 250 one week ago, to 169 today. We are sadly reporting 9 more deaths this past week from Covid-19 which have occurred in the past 10 days. Since August 1 this year, we have lost 45 community members—Grandmas and Grandpas, moms and dads, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters.
“During this recent spike in cases, the youngest, was just 23 years old,” said Medina County Health Unit Director Trish Mechler. “We have lost so many people in their 30s and 40s, many younger people with no underlying health issues in many cases.”
She also notes with so many at home test kits, the active case count is hard to really know. The stabilization of the local hospital systems is encouraging however.
“If you haven’t received a COVID vaccine yet, please get your shot. It’s free and widely available and could save your life. Do it for your family, too.”
Crawford Pharmacy in Devine offers vaccines as well as booster doses on a daily basis. No need for appointment.
Mechler provided the following info on:
Booster Doses: Booster doses for Pfizer are available this week from the Health Unit. Sign-up on line at vaccine.medinatx.org. We will have clinics at our office, Castroville WIC, and Devine WIC locations. You can sign up for a Saturday clinic this week too. Our phones are working finally, so call us if you need any more information. For any first dose COVID-19 vaccines, walk-ins are always welcome. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have not yet been approved for booster doses.
Who qualifies for Booster doses at this time?
CDC COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html
* CDC recommends that the following groups should receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine at least 6 months after completing their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series (i.e., the first 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine):
* people aged 65 years and older
* residents aged 18 years and older in long-term care settings
* people aged 50-64 years with underlying medical conditions<https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html> (see CDC COVID-19 website for more information)
* CDC also recommends that the following groups may receive a booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine at least 6 months after completing their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series, based on their benefits and risks:
* people aged 18-49 years with underlying medical conditions<https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html> (see CDC COVID-19 website for more information)
* people aged 18-64 years are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of the occupational or institutional setting
* These recommendations only apply to people who previously received a Pfizer-BioNTech primary series (i.e., the first 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine).
* People can talk to their healthcare provider about whether getting a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster shot is appropriate for them.
VACCINE DATA UPDATE (estimated) since 9/27/2021
People that are fully vaccinated age 12 and older:
Medina County 55.83% up from 55.19%
Texas 62.02% up from 61.16%
Medina Co CASE DATA UPDATE (estimated) since 9/27/2021
Confirmed Cases: 4,675
Probable Cases: 1,978
Fatalities: 153 up from 144
Active Cases: 169 down from 250
Recovered: 6,340
*see states definition of recovered
By Kayleen Holder
Editor
