As cases of coronavirus appear to be rising with the advent of new variants, the CDC’s Data Tracker website has shown Washington County to be a high-transmission county.
The CDC defines high transmission as one with more than 100 cases per 100,000 people during the previous week.
Terra Uhing, executive director of the Three Rivers Public Health Department, said the health department is only tracking through the entire jurisdiction and not giving numbers per individual county.
“In the last seven days within the whole jurisdiction we’ve had 39 cases,” she said. “In 14 days, we have seen 70 cases in the jurisdiction.”
Uhing said the change in reporting is due to the executive order for public health emergency declaration ending June 30.
“The data will still be presented but won’t be identifiable because of the lack of public health emergency order,” she said.
The CDC released guidance on Tuesday saying vaccinated people should wear masks if they are in counties with high or substantial cases.
“Vaccines are our way of getting out of this,” Uhing said.
Uhing said the total percent of people fully vaccinated in Dodge County is 47.64%; 45.47% in Saunders County; and 47.18% in Washington County.
The percent of the population fully vaccinated that is 16 and older in Dodge County is 60.78%; 55.56% in Saunders County; and 58.27% in Washington County.
“The virus is still here, it’s going to be here, and we are seeing hospitalizations with people unvaccinated where the Delta variant is involved,” Uhing said.
Three Rivers Public Health Department offers all three vaccines during walk-in clinics on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at First Lutheran Church in Blair.
The vaccine is also available through Memorial Community Hospital and Health System, Methodist Fremont Health, as well as Walmart, Hy-Vee, Bakers and Walgreens.
