Delaware County vaccination rates highest in state

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The Delaware Public Health District reported Wednesday there have been 16,881 total cases of COVID-19 in the county, an increase of just 18 from the previous week.

The average new cases per day of COVID-19 remains at one per 100,000 population. Also unchanged is the 42 people placed in isolation within the last 10 days. The DPHD also said it has administered 27,048 total vaccine doses, up only nine in the past week.

The Ohio Department of Health’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccination Dashboard on Wednesday said Delaware County still leads the state’s 88 counties in the percentage of population who have started the vaccine, with 62.2%, or 130,164 people. Second is Lake County, with 55% or 126,581 people vaccinated. Ohio’s totals are 5.6 million people, or 48% of the population have started on the vaccine.

Delaware County also has the highest percentage of population who have completed receiving the vaccination, with 59.2% or 123,898 people. Lake and Medina are the only other counties in the state with more than half completed. The state totals are 5.2 million people, or 44.8% of the population, have completed receiving the vaccine.

Delaware County is 14th-most in the number of cases with 18,943. The ODH said 335 Delaware County residents have been hospitalized, and 137 people have died, significantly less than many counties. The discrepancies in the county totals by the two agencies (DPHD and ODH) is based on additional jurisdictions reporting to ODH.

The ODH is also reporting there have been a total of 1,113,006 cases of COVID-19 in the state, with 930,128 cases confirmed by testing and 182,878 probable cases based on symptoms. The age range of those who have had coronavirus is under a year to 111 years old, with a median age of 41. Slightly more females, 53%, have contracted COVID-19.

Cases per 100,000 population is at 19.6, down from 21.4 a week ago. There have been 8,343 intensive care unit admissions due to the infectious disease, with 60,819 hospitalizations and 20,366 deaths of residents, all but six dying in the state.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there have been 33.5 million total cases of the coronavirus in the United States, resulting in 606,656 deaths. There have been 331 million total vaccines administered. The trends data shows that cases in the U.S. have risen over the last 30 days.

The Johns Hopkins University of Medicine’s COVID-19 Resource Center said there have been 184.8 million people worldwide who have contracted COVID-19, resulting in more than 3.9 million deaths. However, more than 3 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, up from 2.7 billion a week ago.

Among the data issued by Johns Hopkins is a look at how each state went about its vaccination plans. In Ohio, it was in seven phases, in the following order: Healthcare workers and LCTF, individuals living in congregate settings, 65-plus and high-risk people, essential workers, teachers, other groups, and remaining populations. Several other states did seven phases as well, and other states made several groups simultaneously eligible. For example, in Texas, the roll out was in only three phases.

“When U.S. COVID-19 vaccine distribution began in mid-December 2020, all 50 states placed health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities (LTCF) at the front of their lines to receive vaccinations,” the university said. “But state strategies quickly diverged after that. Without a federal mandate, some chose teachers to go next in line. Some prioritized people over 65. And others bestowed the privilege on essential workers. Despite the differences, most states had vaccinated the highest priority groups by the end of April 2021 and moved on to inviting everyone over 16 years of age to be vaccinated. By May, more than 100 million people in the United States were fully vaccinated.”

In other news about the global pandemic, a study from researchers at Yale University and the Commonwealth Fund said, “The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination campaign has significantly curbed the virus’s spread and national death toll, saving an estimated 279,000 lives and averting 1.25 million hospitalizations. … The researchers warn, however, that the Delta variant’s spread among unvaccinated populations could lead to a surge in new cases and reverse the downward trend of infections and deaths across the United States.”

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By Gary Budzak

[email protected]

Gary Budzak may be reached at 740-413-0906 or on Twitter @GaryBudzak.

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