More Merced County residents getting COVID vaccine, but deaths remain a problem
Merced County’s COVID-19 numbers this week showed some positive signs of improvement, while other metrics continued to serve as grim indicators of the progress yet to be made before the virus returns to a more manageable state.
Vaccinations among eligible residents in Merced County are now 39.7%, a 3.1% increase from last week. Plus, among local daily cases per 100,000 residents, the positivity rate, active hospitalizations and active cases were each down from last week’s numbers.
The percentage of Merced County that is vaccinated has typically crept up on the order of about 1% each week during recent month
But COVID-19 deaths, outbreaks and intensive care unit availability remain a problem, Merced County Public Health data shows.
A total of 40,120 novel coronavirus cases have been laboratory confirmed in Merced County since the pandemic began. The past week accounted for 829 of those, down from the 987 cases confirmed the week before.
Thirteen Merced County residents lost their lives due to COVID-19-related causes between Thursday and the seven days before, according to the latest County Public Health data.
The month of September has accounted for 39 of the county’s 552 total deaths as of Friday.
While the number of residents sick enough to mandate hospitalization for COVID-19 decreased by 13 cases to 33 since last week, just one ICU bed was free as of Thursday, the most recently available state data showed.
Plus, the ICU capacity of the San Joaquin Valley region as a whole remained relatively the same, with a low 8.80% of ICU beds free across the multi-county region.
The Valley’s scarcity of ICU beds has kept the region under state-mandated surge orders since the area dipped below 10% ICU availability for three consecutive days during the start of September. No other region has triggered the orders.
Local outbreaks of the virus also rose by two locations to 41 sites. The number of Merced County school campuses with COVID-19 outbreaks remained at 22 — or about 54% of all outbreaks locations.
Workplaces with three or more unrelated, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases within two weeks constitute and outbreak. Locations are removed from the list when no additional cases are confirmed for another two weeks.
Cases among children still high
Local and state public health officials have said that receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is the best way to protect not just one’s self, but vulnerable children who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, from contracting a severe case of the virus that could lead to hospitalization or death.
Merced County’s top health officer Dr. Salvador Sandoval told the Sun-Star that a vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths are among unvaccinated residents.
While people who are unvaccinated by far account for the greatest portion of COVID-19 deaths or serious cases, there have been reports of serious breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated. Merced County during the first week of this month reported nine deaths from breakthrough infections out of about 204 COVID-19 fatalities reported since Jan. 14, or about 4.5%.
Merced County’s most recent COVID-19 wave has been distinctive in that the percentage of children contracting the disease is significantly higher than past waves. During previous pandemic waves, pediatric cases typically made up 11-13% of total cases, according to Merced County Public Health officials.
The estimated 530 pediatric cases as of Thursday, while slightly down since last week, still account for a third of all county infections. Total active Merced County COVID-19 cases were estimated at 1,816 as of Thursday, also a few cases fewer than one week ago.
Information on COVID-19 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.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 1:59 PM.
