Area COVID-19 case rate lower than in January, but expected to rise in May

COVID-19 has not gone away. The number of new cases is considered moderate in Branch, Hillsdale and St. Joseph counties, health agency officer Rebecca Burns told her board Thursday. Rates are low compared to three months ago.

Berrien, Barry, and Kalamazoo counties showed high rates of new infections last week. Allegan, Calhoun, Van Buren, Jackson and Lenawee reported moderate new levels of infections.

The levels are nowhere near the spike of new infections reported in January.

"This is exactly what we were advised to expect with the newer Omicron-like variant," Burns said. The level of hospitalization is low.

Branch County averaged two new cases a day, the same as the prior week. St. Joseph County also reported two a day, down from three the previous week. Hillsdale averaged one case a day, reporting no cases in the previous five days.

Calhoun County reported an average of 14 per day this week, while Kalamazoo County averaged 31 per day.

Because the symptoms are flu-like and mild, fewer people are getting tested.

Burns suspects positive levels are lower because of home testing not reported to the state or health agency.

"We are hearing from our partners with the BA II variant we expect a slight rise in infections until mid-May. We don't expect hospitalizations to increase," she said.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday 50% of the U.S. population contracted COVID-19 in the past two years. The CDC study showed among children 11 and under, 75% had infection-related antibodies, up from 44% before the winter surge.

Since the pandemic started in March 2020, Hillsdale County reported 194 COVID-19-related deaths. Branch and St. Joseph counties each recorded 172 deaths from the virus. In Michigan, 33,068 died from the epidemic. Of those, 76% were over the age of 60.

According to a new CDC study, deaths of about 234,000 American adults since June 2021 could have been prevented by timely vaccination against the coronavirus. Nearly 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19.

COVID-19 vaccinations are available following the CDC guidance on administration.

"We have seen a slight bump in demand now that individuals 50 and older are eligible for a second booster dose," Burns said.

St. Joseph County vaccination rates were 52.4%. Branch County was 50.2%, while Hillsdale County was 45.5%, the second-lowest ahead of Cass County, as of April 20.

Appointments can continue to be made online from the health agency website, www.bhsj.org/scheduling. You also may call your local health office and ask for immunizations.

"Being vaccinated continues to be the best defense against severe disease and death, and everyone eligible is recommended to get vaccinated," Burns said.

If you have symptoms, COVID-19 tests are available at local libraries participating in giving out free COVID test kits. These include Waldron District Library in Waldron, Nottawa Township Library in Centreville and White Pigeon Township Library.

Residents may continue to order free coronavirus tests from the federal government, if they haven't already, at https://www.covidtests.gov.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: Area COVID-19 case rate lower than in January, but could rise in May