Health department reports rapid rise in COVID cases in youth

McCOOK, Neb -- Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department has seen a rapid increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in youth throughout the health district, according to a release issued today.

There have been changes in the trend of what ages are being affected throughout the pandemic, especially now with the Delta variant of COVID-19 causing the majority of cases. The accompanying chart compares COVID-19 cases in SWNPHD by age for 2020 (light blue) versus 2021 (dark blue).

The Chart data includes April to December 2020 and January to September 2021. Total 2020 cases are 3,034. Total 2021 cases are 1,448.

Youth throughout Nebraska and the United States are also being hospitalized for COVID-19 at higher rates than previously recorded. The Centers for Disease Control and Surveillance (CDC) report that hospitalizations among ages 0-4 have increased tenfold, and hospitalizations among unvaccinated teenagers are ten times higher than among those who are fully vaccinated.

The one-dose COVID vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson will be available again at several locations throughout the health district including at SWNPHD, local pharmacies and participating providers. All three COVID-19 vaccines currently approved for use in the United States have proven to be effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death.

SWNPHD would like to answer questions that residents have about the COVID vaccines, such as: Will a COVID-19 vaccine alter my DNA? No. COVID-19 vaccines do not change or interact with your DNA in any way. Both mRNA and viral vector COVID-19 vaccines deliver instructions (genetic material) to our cells to start building protection against the virus that causes COVID-19. However, the material never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA is kept.

SWNPHD had 80 new cases of COVID-19 reported from September 14 to September 20, 2021, bringing the weekly average to 86.5 cases per week in the last 30 days. A breakdown by age includes: 0 to 19 – 14; 20 to 29 – 11; 30 to 39 – 15; 40 to 49 – 7; 50 to 59 – 12; 60 to 69 – 8; 70 to 79 – 9; 80 and over – 4. The total number of cases is 4,494. Vaccination rates across the health district have reached 49%, counting both fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals.

Visit swhealth.ne.gov for information on COVID-19. You can also follow SWNPHD on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. SWNPHD serves Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Hayes, Hitchcock, Keith, Perkins, and Red Willow counties. SWNPHD is located at 404 West 10th St (1 block north of Arby’s) in McCook and can be reached by calling 308-345-4223.