Merced County’s active COVID cases are falling, but local deaths, hospitalizations aren’t
The rapid influx of new COVID-19 cases seen during the summer peak in July and August is finally starting to slow down a bit throughout much of California, including Merced County, state and county data show.
New daily cases statewide have been generally trending downward since mid to late August, according to state data.
Merced County’s number of active cases, average positivity rate and daily cases each improved slightly during the last week, too. While still high at 1,852 estimated active cases on Thursday, that’s down from 2,126 cases one week ago, the most recently available data released by County Public Health on Friday shows.
But local pediatric cases grew by 45 to 647 in the last week. That means children make up over a third of Merced County’s total active COVID-19 cases. During previous waves of the pandemic, pediatric cases typically made up 11-13% of the county’s total cases, according to County Public Health officials.
Deaths also have not showed signs of slowing down locally. Ten more Merced County residents died after contracting the virus within the past week, raising the fatality count to 527 since the pandemic’s start.
The first nine days of September alone account for 14 of those total deaths, according to the Merced County Department of Public Health.
Plus, while average COVID-19 hospitalizations throughout the state are starting to drop, Merced and neighboring Valley counties continue to show some of the worst numbers for hospitalizations.
Case in point, the entire San Joaquin Valley remains under surge protocols triggered one week ago after the region’s intensive care unity capacity fell below 10% for three days straight.
The orders stayed in effect on Friday as ICU capacity continued to hover around 8%, making the Valley the only region subject to surge protocols. The orders will be reevaluated Sept. 16.
Merced County on Thursday had 13 more patients hospitalized because of the virus compared to the prior week, raising the count to 53. Twelve of those patients were being cared for in the ICU, leaving four of the county’s total ICU beds available, according to state data.
Low vaccinations remain a complicating factor.
The decrease in overall statewide and local cases could be a positive indicator that data for hospitalizations and deaths will also improve. But the risk posed by the delta variant combined with the number of residents yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 add uncertainty — especially in regions like Merced where vaccinations are low.
COVID-19 vaccinations are the best protection against severe cases of the disease that lead to hospitalization and death, meaning communities with low vaccination rates are left more vulnerable.
Just over 35% of Merced County’s population has been fully vaccinated against the virus. That compares to 53% of the nation’s total population and nearly 68% of Californians overall, according to Center for Disease Control data.
Low vaccinations are likely contributing to the rising number of children contracting COVID-19, Merced County Public Health officials say. The county’s pediatric cases continue to gain in number while adult cases decrease.
The county’s list of outbreak locations are also dominated by schools. A smattering of elementary, middle and high school campuses accounted for 21 of 37 total outbreak sites as of Thursday.
Merced County Public Health Officer Dr. Salvador Sandoval recently told the Sun-Star that unvaccinated adults spreading the highly infectious delta variant are likely the main reason pediatric cases are rising.
The best way to protect children, he said, is to either get them vaccinated against COVID-19 if they’re eligible or ensure that the adults around them are vaccinated.
More information on vaccines can be found on the vaccinatemercedcounty.com website. Information about walk-in clinics or other ways to schedule free COVID-19 vaccinations are available on the state’s website at myturn.ca.gov.
