HAYS COUNTY – Hays County is now at high risk for COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upgraded Hays County from medium to high risk due to new cases and hospitalizations. Neighboring Travis, Blanco and Comal counties are all labeled as low risk, while Caldwell is at medium.
The CDC assigns every county nationwide with a “COVID-19 Community Level” to help individuals understand how the virus is impacting their specific community.
Low, medium and high-risk levels are determined based on the number of new cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days, new hospital admissions in the past seven days and the percent of staffed hospital beds being used by COVID-19 patients.
If the number of new cases is higher than 200, the county cannot be considered low risk.
Whether the county has fewer or more than 200 new cases per 100,000 residents for hospital and inpatient bed usage also plays a factor.
In Hays County, the case rate per 100,000 population is 294.54; there are 16.1 new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population and there are 4.4% staffed inpatient beds in use by confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to a report by the CDC.
About 175,430 people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 148,717 completed a primary series.
The CDC also recorded the following information in its Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, which was updated on Friday, Dec. 30.
• Seasonal influenza (flu) activity remains high but is declining in most areas.
• Of the influenza A viruses detected and subtyped during week 51, 83% were influenza A(H3N2) and 17% were influenza A(H1N1).
• Fourteen influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported this week, for a total of 61 pediatric flu deaths reported so far this season.
• So far this season, there have been at least 20 million illnesses, 210,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths from the flu.
• The cumulative hospitalization rate in the FluSurv-NET system was more than four times higher than the highest cumulative in-season hospitalization rate observed for week 51 during previous seasons going back to 2010-2011. However, this in-season rate is still lower than end-of-season hospitalization rates for all but 4 pre-COVID-19-pandemic seasons going back to 2010-11.
• The number of flu hospital admissions reported in the Health and Human Services Protect system decreased nationally from the week prior for the third week in a row.
• An annual flu vaccine is the best way to protect against the flu. Vaccination helps prevent infection and can also prevent severe outcomes in people who get vaccinated but still get sick with the flu.
• It is recommended that everyone ages 6 months and older get a flu vaccine annually.
