Vaccine phase opens to more candidates

The current phase of COVID-19 vaccinations has been opened further to now include people with certain serious health conditions that place them at higher risk from the virus.

“As the pandemic has continued, we have seen that people with certain health challenges are clearly more likely to become severely ill when they are infected with COVID-19,” said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer, in a press release announcing the change.

“These vaccines can help protect these individuals.”

The health conditions listed by the Wyoming Department of Health as making a person eligible for the current round of vaccines include cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, solid organ transplant, sickle cell disease, down syndrome, pregnancy, diabetes, heart conditions, obesity (BMI above 30), immunocompromised state and severe neurologic condition such as stroke and dementia.

The group is now also open to caregivers of medically vulnerable people who are not able to get vaccinated.

Phase 1b is currently in progress for every county in Wyoming and also includes people over the age of 65, some frontline essential workers who interact with the public and people on the Wyoming Medicaid Community Choices Waiver and Development Disabilities waivers. However, the speed at which this group is completed is expected to vary from county to county.

“It’s very important for people to understand counties are moving through the priority groups at different paces based on the number of people in each group and uptake at the county level,” said Angie Van Houten, Community Health Section chief.

“This means there are differences in progress and availability based on where you live.”

A hiccup in vaccine delivery caused by bad weather conditions across the nation came to an end last week when shipments of the Moderna doses finally arrived. However, the Wyoming Department of Health cautioned that last week’s allocation was expected to also arrive later as distributors worked to catch up.

As of February 25, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office, more than 16% of the state’s population has received at least one vaccine dose – one of the highest rates in the country.

Meanwhile, a third vaccine has been announced from Johnson & Johnson. The company announced on Saturday that its single-shot vaccine had been granted FDA approval for emergency use and would begin shipping immediately, with a goal of delivering 100 million doses during the first half of 2021.

According to Johnson & Johnson, phase three studies demonstrated the vaccine to be 85 percent effective in preventing severe disease and showed protection against COVID-19 related hospitalization and death.

Health Orders

The health order affecting personal care services will be eliminated entirely as of March 1. This order addressed the operations of barber shops, nail and hair salons, tattoo parlors and personal care services.

Additional protocols will also be relaxed as the statistics in Wyoming continue to gradually improve. Attendance limits will be increased again for indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Indoor events that incorporate social distancing and face coverings may have up to 1000 persons or 25 percent of capacity, while outdoor gatherings may include up to 2000 persons.

“The efforts made so far have allowed us to maximize attendance safely at larger events like the state high school wrestling championships this weekend and the state high school basketball tournament that was cancelled last year,” Governor Mark Gordon said in a press release.

“If we continue on our current trajectory, I expect us to be able to continue to remove orders as we safely return to a new normal.”

Local Stats

Crook County experienced another week with no active cases of COVID-19 and no new cases recorded on the state’s tally. However, a spell that lasted almost three weeks with no reported infections ended on Tuesday, when Crook County Public Health announced one new confirmed case.

At this time, the county’s total number of confirmed cases is at 386 and probable cases at 32.

No COVID-19 patients have been admitted to Crook County Memorial Hospital since February 7.

Variants

It’s been another relatively quiet week on the pandemic front all across Wyoming, although national reports suggest the downward trend may have stalled. The number of daily cases reported across the U.S. fell precipitously from mid-January to mid-February, but appear to now be climbing modestly once again.

The spread of COVID-19 now includes all three of the major variants of concern that have been identified, all three of which are known to spread more quickly and easily between people. Of those three, only the UK Variant has been identified in Wyoming.

In Wyoming and its surrounding states, the Brazil and South Africa Variants remain virtually undetected. Only one case of the South Africa Variant has been recorded, in Idaho.

However, the UK Variant is showing some spread in this region, albeit in low numbers. The total UK Variant cases confirmed in Wyoming is nine at this time, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The Gillette News Record confirmed this that the UK Variant has been recorded in Campbell County in an adult man who tested positive in February. According to the report, he did not experience complications.