COVID Numbers Increasing

The Panhandle Public Health District reported 227 cases of COVID-19 between Sept. 27 and Oct. 4.

The number equates to 263 cases per 100,000 people. The Centers for Disease Control reports 2,180,150 vaccines administered at a rate of 112,704 per 100,000.

The PPHD reported Most of the new cases are a result of Community Spread, followed by Close Contact. The confirmed cases by gender are almost an even split with 79 female and 72 male. By age, the 50 to 59 age bracket

Cheyenne County reported 24 cases between Sept. 27 and Oct. 4; 1,159 total since the virus was announced. The PPHD also announced 37 percent of the population is vaccinated.

As of Friday, Oct. 8, Sidney Public Schools 19 active COVID-19 cases in the school district.

According to the District's chart, six are in high school, six at West Elementary, three at North Elementary, two at Sidney Middle School, one at South Elementary and one at Central Elementary.

The PPHD reports 71 percent of residents 65 and older are fully vaccinated, 49 percent of residents ages 50 to 64 are fully vaccinated, 37 percent of residents ages 30 to 49 are fully vaccinated, 22 percent of residents ages 16 to 29 are fully vaccinated and only 4.8 percent of residents birth to 15 years are vaccinated. Statewide, 85 percent of residents 65 and older are fully vaccinated, 68 percent of residents 50 to 64 years of age are fully vaccinated, 59 percent of residents 30 to 49 are fully vaccinated, 44 percent of residents 16 to 29 years of age are fully vaccinated and 10.5 percent of children birth to 15 are vaccinated.

The Panhandle Public Health District serves a population of 86,268 of the state's population of 1,904,760. As of Oct. 4, 36.45 percent were fully vaccinated compared to 51.99 percent statewide.

Nationally, the CDC reports 215,502,382 of the population has had at least one dose of vaccine and 185.8 million people fully vaccinated; 5.71 million people have received a booster dose. Almost 230,000,000 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been administered, compared to 152,089,746 Moderna vaccines, and 15,073,515 Johnson & Johnson/Jaanssen.