Despite drop in active COVID cases, Merced County double state average for new infections
.JPG "Registered nurse Maria Contreras administers a COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a vaccination clinic inside the Cesar E. Chavez Middle School gymnasium in Planada, Calif., on Thursday, March 4, 2021.")
October so far is proving another deadly month of the COVID-19 pandemic’s long saga in Merced County, the latest Merced County Department of Public Health data shows.
Thirteen more residents lost their lives within the last week after contracting the virus, according to Friday’s data report. The fatalities represent a jump from an already grim loss of eight lives during the first week of October and bring the new month’s overall death toll to 21 as of Oct. 14.
Since the pandemic’s start, a total of 583 known Merced County deaths have been confirmed as COVID-19-related as of Thursday. September alone represented 49 of those deaths.
Merced County is averaging .6 deaths per 100,000 residents compared to the statewide average of .2 deaths per 100,000, state data shows.
The county’s positivity rate and new daily cases per 100,000 residents are also higher at 8.50% and 25.8, respectively, compared to California’s average of 2.3% and 11.7.
However, infections presumed active did fall by over 320 cases since the prior week to 1,157 as of Thursday. Pediatric cases estimated active decreased by almost 30 infections to 343, too.
County-wide COVID-19 outbreaks remained at a tally of 36 sites, but one fewer school made up the list. Outbreaks at campus sites number 23, or 64% of all county outbreaks, as of Thursday.
Low COVID-19 vaccination rate still problem
Cases among residents age 17 or younger during prior waves usually accounted for 11-13% of total cases, County Public Health officials say. As of Thursday, pediatric cases represent about 30% of all Merced County COVID-19 infections.
According to Merced County Health Officer Dr. Salvador Sandoval, the most common way children are contracting COVID-19 is likely due to unvaccinated adults spreading the virus.
Merced County vaccinations continue to lag at nearly 52% of eligible residents fully vaccinated compared to almost 80% statewide.
Just over 50% of eligible county residents were vaccinated the prior week, marking the slow but steady progress of community vaccinations against the contagious virus.
State data from Sept. 26 through Oct. 2 shows that unvaccinated individuals are seven times likelier to contract COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people. Cases among the unvaccinated are at greater risk of developing into severe cases that require hospitalization or lead to death, according to state and county public health officials.
Merced County hospitals’ intensive care unit capacity has struggled since August, mirroring the current COVID-19 wave’s preceding rise in cases that began in July, state and county data indicates.
That wave appears to have not yet subsided, as new daily cases continue to number in the hundreds and ICU capacity remains thin.
As of Thursday, two ICU beds were available county-wide. COVID-19 patients hospitalized within Merced County numbered 37 — a positive drop from 50 hospitalizations the prior Thursday. State data reported that a dozen of those patients were being treated in the ICU.
Regionally, ICU capacity is again sinking low again in the 12-county San Joaquin Valley area, too.
The Valley regressed to 11.80% ICU availability as of Thursday, representing a significant descent from the 21.10% reported last week. That’s the lowest percentage of staffed ICU beds available throughout California’s five regions. The statewide average was 24.1% ICU availability as of Thursday.
The Valley’s low number of free ICU beds previously triggered surge capacity orders that lasted several weeks after the region fell below 10% capacity and failed to climb higher week after week.
Those orders will become state-mandated once again if the region falls below 10% ICU availability for three consecutive days.
