By Charles Melton
Hutchinson Tribune Staff
HUTCHINSON— While the number of COVID cases is on the rise in Reno County, the number of COVID vaccinations is almost half of what it was last year, according to Reno County Health Department officials.
“COVID-19 vaccination numbers have gone down this year, as only 5.3% of Reno County residents received a vaccine,” said Reno County Health Department epidemiologist Megan Pierce. “Last season, 9.2% of people got an updated COVID-19 vaccine.”
Though the health department doesn’t have exact case numbers, the percentage of emergency department visits and virus particles in wastewater have increased over the past few weeks, Pierce said.
“The percent of ED visits were at 2.1% last week,” she said. “The hospitalization rate for COVID-19 for the US is increasing and is at 1.3 per 100,000 population.”
The most common variant in the US right now is XFG, and is only slightly different from recent variants, she said. It has a few mutations that makes it easier it to evade COVID-19 antibodies from previous infections or vaccinations.
“Lower vaccination rates means more people are susceptible and have less antibodies to COVID-19, which can increase the spread,” she explained.
While COVID-19 and the flu have similar symptoms like fever, cough, fatigue, and sore throat, but flu symptoms typically appear faster than COVID-19 symptoms, she said.
“To prevent COVID-19, stay up to date on COVID-19 boosters, practice good hand hygiene, wear a mask, and stay away from sick individuals.” she said. “When sick, stay at home and away from others to prevent spreading it to others.”
People can return to normal activities when their symptoms are improving and they have been fever free for 24 hours, Pierce said. It is also recommended to that people take additional precautions for the five days after returning to normal activities, such as wearing a mask or physical distancing.