Kerr County leaders host latest COVID-19 Community Update

Kerr County leaders hosted their latest COVID-19 Community Update Friday, March 26, to discuss the area’s most recent COVID-19 statistics and give updates on vaccine distribution. Kerrville Fire Chief Eric Maloney says he is “cautiously optimistic” but continues to stress to all citizens to remain cautious and practice CDC guidelines.

As of March 26, Kerr County is reporting 42 active cases and 5 COVID-19 hospitalizations at Peterson Regional Medical Center, which continues to indicate a deceleration in case counts since January. PRMC averaged 17 coronavirus patients a day during the first month of 2021, and the county averaged roughly 357 active coronavirus cases per day in January.

Kerr County continues to offer a pre-registration site for those wishing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available for them. Residents should log visit PRMC’s site, which has now received 10,000 people who have registered since its inception.

Anyone wishing to pre-register can call (800) 208-3611 or visit: research.net/r/PetersonHealth. Other area providers include Walmart, Walgreens, the Kerrville VA Hospital and H-E-B pharmacies.

Overall, PRMC has been allocated 5,500 vaccines, 1500 of which were received just last week.

According to PRMC CEO Corey Edmondson, the county’s primary focus remains vaccinating those who fall into Phase 1B, which includes individuals 65 years and older (14,000 Kerr County citizens), individuals 16-64 years of age who suffer from underlying health conditions (14,000 Kerr County citizens), and the 1,000 Kerr County residents who are classified as teachers or child care workers.

The State of Texas has announced that Phase 2 will officially open up March 29, which will encompass 43,800 Texans in the general public ages 16 years of age and older. The Texas DSHS has deemed the Pfizer vaccine to be safe for anyone 16 years of age and older, and the Moderna vaccine can be administered to those who are 18 plus years old.

The DSHS confirms that 16,000 Kerr County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with at least 5,000 county residents considered fully vaccinated. People may have been administered their shots in other counties. The DSHS collects data statewide and then reports back to all respective counties.

The Update concluded with local officials reminding citizens that with the most recent COVID-19 testing numbers registering at just 3% positivity rate, there is reason to feel “positive.” It was on March 11, 2020 when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, but communities have collectively played a part in overcoming it.