Health department reports 11 active COVID-19 cases

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The Perry County Health Department reports 11 active cases of COVID-19, which brings the county’s seven-day rolling average to 1.3. Recently, there has been an upward trend in wastewater data, though the figures remain far below the levels seen in November 2020.
The state’s Department of Health and Senior Services, Department of Natural Resources as well as the University of Missouri are working together on “The Sewershed Surveillance Project,” a COVID-19 tracking tool.
Perry County’s COVID-19 viral load measurement was among 27 municipalities to show an increase above previous data points.
Another 25 were marked as “no change.” None of the nearly 70 measurements from Missouri municipalities showed a significant decrease. An increase is the trend marker when the viral load measurement went up by 40 percent or more from the previous week, or increase by 25 percent or more from the past two weeks.
The Perryville wastewater treatment plant showed a viral load measurement of 165,900 marker copies, the highest weekly total since May 2 (198,100 marker copies). Every measurement taken at the Perryville plant since Feb. 7 has been below 500,000 marker copies.
The highest measurement since taken has been collected was Nov. 1, 2020 when a reported 6.2 million marker copies were tracked. There have been only five other measurements of four 4 million marker copies. Only two times in 2021 has the viral load exceeded 1 million and that was in consecutive weeks ((Jan. 10, 1.2 million and Jan. 17, 1.0 million).
Nearby areas with no significant change in the past couples times measurements have been taken were the Bonne Terre Northwest, Farmington Northeast and Cape Girardeau Municipal wastewater treatment facilities.
The data collected does not reveal the number of individuals presently infected with COVID-19. The data is used to track the progression of the virus in communities and inform public health strategy, according to the project’s web site.

Vaccine participation
A reported 27.4 percent of Perry County’s population (5,239 of 19,136) have completed vaccination with a total of 10,696 initiating vaccination, according to health.mo.gov, the state’s data center for COVID-19.
The amount of 105 doses administered in the last week ranks 55th in terms of counties with the fewest vaccines. This total includes 45 individuals who completed vaccination in the past week plus another 76 residents who have are new to the initiating vaccination phase.
The Perry County Health Department has been administering the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 after its large community clinic at the Perry Park Center, in which the Pzifer vaccine was administered.
Nearby or adjacent counties to Perry have a completed vaccination range of between 22.1 and 33.5 percent, including: Bollinger County, 22.1 percent, 2,685 of 12,133 residents vaccinated; Madison County, 24.5 percent, 2,961 of 12,088 residents vaccinated; St. Francois County, 29.3 percent, 19,703 of 67,215 residents vaccinated; Ste. Genevieve County, 31.2 percent, 5,591 of 11,474 residents vaccinated; and Cape Girardeau County, 33.5 percent, 26,444 of 78,871 residents vaccinated.
There were eight Missouri counties who surpassed 1,300 vaccine doses administered in the past seven days.
Five Missouri counties administered fewer than 10 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the past week while a total of 26 counties were listed as providing 50 or fewer doses in the last seven days.
Nearly three in four individuals ages 75 and older in Perry County have completed vaccination (74.27 percent). The only other age categories better than 50 percent are 75-84 (with a reported 66.67 percent) and 65-74 (a reported 63.86 percent).
Statewide, more than 66 percent of residents ages 85 and older have completed vaccination. The highest age category to complete vaccination is ages 75-84, with a reported 74 percent finished with the process. This is slightly ahead of those ages 65-74, who are at 72.9 percent.