By Adam Strunk
Active COVID-19 cases remain as low as they’ve been in the last year in Harvey County.
For the second straight week, new cases have remained in the single digits, with six new cases last week and eight this week.
In total, eight people have an active case. If the trend continues, the county could see a milestone in the fight against the disease – lower case numbers compared to the previous year, representing a first.
As for who is getting sick, it remains those not completely vaccinated. The county recorded no new cases with a vaccinated person in the last two weeks. Since May 3, 69 out of 72 new cases have occurred in the county’s population of people yet to be fully vaccinated. That amounts to 96 percent of new cases.
The county recorded no hospitalizations this week, making it three weeks since a resident has been hospitalized for the disease. In total, the disease has claimed the lives of 69 residents or one out of every 500 people living in the county.
The number of sick hospitalizations and deaths has greatly dropped off as more and more residents are fully vaccinated.
Now 53 percent of the Harvey County population eligible for the vaccine -12 and over- has received at least one shot. That’s two percentage points above the overall state number.
That places Harvey County in Kansas’ top five for vaccination rates at number five for eligible people. Harvey County also ranks in the top five for eligible people that are fully vaccinated – with 47 percent of the population. That’s about three percent above state numbers.
Among all populations in the county, 45 percent have received at least one dose and 40 percent are fully vaccinated.
