Craig, Colorado — September 8, 2021

Last week, two patients were transferred to higher levels of care – one person was an individual in their 70s and one person was an individual under the age of 19.

COVID Test Positivity Rate

The COVID positivity rate for last week is very high – nearly 33%. The positivity data reported below is based upon the testing performed by Memorial Regional Health’s Emergency Department and associated clinics. Of the 185 people tested last week (August 30-September 5), 61 tests were positive. Of those, 9 (14.75%) were children ages 5-9, 9 (14.75%) were children ages 10-14, and 14 (22.95%) were children ages 15-19. These age groups accounted for over 50% of the total positive cases reported last week.

The trend in positive cases is consistent with what is happening around the United States. Before the Delta Variant became the predominant strain of COVID, children were the least impacted age group. Now, it is the opposite. The two graphs below show the Weekly Cases per 100,000 – first from October 11, 2020 to March 12, 2021 and then May 30, 2021 to August 28, 2021.

COVID Delta Variant Prevalence in Moffat County

The Delta Variant continues to be the predominant variant in this community. The Delta Variant is at least two times as contagious as the Alpha (original) Variant, and it is infecting younger people and causing more severe illness.

Although breakthrough infections (infections in vaccinated individuals) happen much less often than infections in unvaccinated people, individuals infected with the Delta variant, including fully vaccinated people with symptomatic breakthrough infections, can transmit it to others. CDC is continuing to assess data on whether fully vaccinated people with asymptomatic breakthrough infections can transmit. However, the greatest risk of transmission is among unvaccinated people who are much more likely to contract, and therefore transmit the virus (Centers for Disease Control, August 6, 2021).

Deaths in Moffat County

Moffat County’s total number of deaths is 32. Of these 32 deaths, 30 were caused by COVID and 2 were in individuals who were positive for COVID at the time of their death, but the cause of their death was not COVID.

Deaths by Age Distribution:
20s – 1
50s – 3
60s – 3
70s – 7
80s – 8
90s – 8

COVID Vaccines

Memorial Regional Health now offers all three approved vaccines – Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson. Pfizer received full FDA Authorization in August. All three approved vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe illness and death, including against the Delta Variant. To schedule a time to get your vaccine, please call 970-826-2400 and specify which vaccine you would like to receive.

The Pfizer vaccine is approved for people 12 years old and older. It requires two doses of vaccine, three weeks apart. The Moderna vaccine is approved for people over the age of 18. It requires two doses, four weeks apart. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is approved for people over the age of 18, and it is a single dose.

Third Doses of Vaccine and Booster Doses of Vaccine

Currently the CDC and FDA are recommending a third dose of vaccine for moderate to severely immunocompromised individuals who received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The CDC defines a moderately to severely immunocompromised individual as someone who meets one of the following criteria:

• Active treatment for solid tumor and hematologic malignancies
• Receipt of solid-organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy
• Receipt of CAR-T-cell or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of
• transplantation or taking immunosuppression therapy)
• Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome)
• Advanced or untreated HIV infection
• Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (i.e., ≥20mg prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs, cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.

Those who meet one of the above criteria and would like a third dose, can call 826-2400 to schedule. Please tell the registrar you are calling for a third dose and let the registrar know what vaccine you received initially. Third doses will be the same as the first two received. |

Booster doses have not yet been authorized by the FDA. If and when the FDA does authorize booster doses, Memorial Regional Health will begin offering them at the approved interval.