COVID Stats Improving Locally

Coronavirus numbers continue to improve in Fayette County according to County Emergency Management Chief Craig Moreau.

“We’re at zero to single digits for hospitalizations over the last several weeks now, which is fantastic,” Moreau said in a report to the County Commissioners last Thursday.

Moreau said the infection rate in Fayette County stands at 0.77 as of last Thursday. A number less than one means everyone who gets the virus will pass it to less than one person on average.

“Over time, the amount of cases should go down,” Moreau said.

He said the County has distributed more than 10,000 doses of the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson coronavirus vaccines to residents over the age of 16 in Fayette County.

“Some of those are the two-dose regimen and some are the one-dose regimen, so its hard to say exactly how many people are fully vaccinated at this point,” Moreau said. “But we can say there have been a very significant amount of residents who have received the vaccine and we have a whole lot of antibodies and resistance floating around in the County right now.”

Moreau attributed the County’s low hospitalization rate to the ongoing local vaccination efforts.

On Friday, April 16, the County will partner with the Texas Military Division and St. Mark’s Hospital to distribute about 1,000 Moderna vaccines at a drive-through clinic at the Fayette County Fairgrounds. All residents aged 18 and above will be eligible.

In addition, Moreau said the County’s first 16 and 17-yearolds received Pfizer vaccines late last week. Right now, the Pfizer shot is the only vaccine with emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for 16 and 17-year-olds.

He said the County will offer about 100 Pfizer doses to 16 and 17-year-olds at another clinic this Saturday, April 17, at the Fayette County Fairgrounds from 9 to 11 a.m. Moreau said parents will have to be present and sign documents for their children to receive the vaccine.

Also at the Fairgrounds that day, the County will offer 2,000 doses of the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine to residents aged 18 and above.

On April 19, the County will distribute second doses of the Moderna vaccine to residents who received their first dose last month. The County plans to hold a second-dose drive through on May 14 for residents who received their first dose at the clinic this Friday, April 16.