COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations remain high in region

Active cases of COVID-19 in Kerr County continue to climb this week, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. As of Thursday, August 19, there are 223 active cases, an increase of 37 cases in the county since Monday.

Also, Peterson Health reported the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations remained fairly steady throughout the week. As of Thursday, the facility was treating 27 coronavirus patients.

Regionally, there are 1,568 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, according to the Regional Medical Operations Center for the 28-county Alamo Area Council of Governments’ Region 6, to which Kerr County belongs. The current figure indicates that current COVID-19 hospitalizations are taking up 20% of the available capacity in hospitals throughout the region.

The number of COVID-19 fatalities in Kerr County is listed at 96, but will soon reflect an increase, according to Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas. Thomas said he was notified directly by Peterson Regional Medical Center that a few more deaths were attributed to the virus which occurred this week.

Kerr County officials want to encourage citizens to receive one of the three readily available COVID-19 vaccines if they have not already done so. “Those who get the vaccine can indeed catch the virus, although the likelihood is extremely small. And if they do, they most assuredly won’t land in the hospital ICU, on a ventilator or die,” Thomas said. “What we are seeing in the hospitals are the most severe cases, and those are almost completely happening in UNvaccinated individuals.”

There are several opportunities for individuals to get their free vaccine shots, including on Monday, August 23, at the Hill Country Youth Event Center, 3785 Hwy 27 in Kerrville, from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Vaccines offered will be Pfizer for those ages 12 years and older, and the Moderna vaccine for those 18 years and older.

Additionally, any U.S. military veteran can get their COVID-19 vaccine at the Kerrville VA on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Peterson Urgent Care offers weekly vaccination clinics on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. For more information regarding specific times call (830) 258-7373, and select “Option 2.” All COVID-19 vaccines are free for everyone.

On Wednesday, August 18, it was announced that booster shots will be made available to Americans beginning the week of September 20, pending reviews by federal health agencies. The boosters will be recommended for those who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and the suggested timing of the booster is 8 months after an individual received their second shot. Officials are waiting for additional data before making a recommendation to those who received the one-shot Janssen vaccine.

As of August 19, there are 223 active COVID-19 cases in Kerr County. The TX DSHS reports that 19,972 county residents are fully vaccinated.

Gillespie County is reporting 116 active coronavirus cases as of August 19. The county confirmed 56 fatalities since the pandemic began and says that 11,777 of 23,486 county residents are fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

Texas is reporting an average of 111 new COVID-19 deaths per day, the highest since March 25. As of August 19, there are 12,705 hospitalizations, 275,948 active cases and 53,564 deaths, according to the most recent state data. 54.92% of all eligible Texans are fully vaccinated for COVID-19.