Coronavirus update: Shasta County announces unvaccinated, vaccinated COVID-19 death totals
In Shasta County, unvaccinated people accounted for eight times the number of COVID deaths compared to vaccinated people, according to county health data.
That's the result of comparing numbers of vaccinated, partially vaccinated and unvaccinated people who died from the virus since the COVID vaccine became widely available in spring 2021.
"These findings show that vaccination was highly effective at preventing deaths from COVID-19," said Supervising Community Education Specialist Amy Koslosky at the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency.
From April 1 to Dec. 31, 2021, 302 people died from COVID in Shasta County, the agency said. Of those who died:
255, or 84.4%, were unvaccinated
35, or 11.6%, were fully vaccinated, meaning they received both of a two-dose vaccine series or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine
12, or 4%, were partially vaccinated, meaning they had one of a two-dose vaccine series
Epidemiologists are still investigating possible COVID deaths from spring and summer, but percentages in 2022 are "very similar," Koslosky said. "Both years are essentially painting the same story,"
Data isn't yet available on any difference between those who got the original vaccine series and those who also got boosters, she said.
For more information go to the county's COVID website at co.shasta.ca.us/ready/covid-19/overview.
COVID Deaths by Vaccinations
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2 die of COVID; hospitalizations climb as outbreak spikes
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
A man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s are the latest in Shasta County to die from COVID-19, Public Health confirmed Thursday.
The county has lost a total of 664 residents to the virus since March 2020, Public Health said. About two-thirds of those who died were age 70 or older.
While Public Health is still investigating some suspected COVID deaths, the number of people known to have died from the virus is declining. April 1 to June 30 saw the fewest COVID deaths of any three-month period since summer 2020 — a time when there were heavy restrictions on travel, gatherings and other social behavior.
However, a spike in outbreak since late June is landing more people in the hospital, according to Public Health data. From July 12 to Monday, daily COVID patient numbers were in the 30s and 40s. Patient numbers reached 43 on Monday — the highest since March 3, the end of the winter omicron spike.
Case numbers are hard to track since home test results are seldom reported, Public Health said, but community spread is high. From July 12 to Monday, Shasta County's test positivity rate — the percentage of tests that came back positive for the virus from state labs — reached 8.2%, according to the California Department of Public Health. That's a 2% jump from the previous week.
However, the number of people sick enough with the virus to be in intensive care units ranged from three to eight each day — slightly lower than ICU numbers during the first week of March, when hospitalization numbers were similar to last week's numbers.
A reason why fewer COVID patients aren't getting as people did in 2021 is more of them are vaccinated, Public Health branches said. There are also better treatments out now. Also strains in 2022 don't seem as deadly as their 2021 counterparts, like the delta variant that hit the North State in late summer and early fall.
For more information on COVID in Shasta County including where to get vaccinated or tested go to bit.ly/3yhe91Y.
2 COVID deaths reported. Hospitalizations rise but outbreak shrinks
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Two more men from Shasta County died of COVID-19, the Public Health Department announced Tuesday.
One man was in his 60s, the other in his 70s, the agency said.
Their deaths pushed the total number of people reported to have died from COVID to 662 since March 2020, Public Health reported.
While COVID hospitalizations are rising, outbreak seems to be dropping, according to Public Health data.
More people were hospitalized with the virus each day last week than any of the first four days in July, according to Public Health.
From July 5 to Monday, 21 to 29 people were hospitalized with COVID per day
From July 1 to 4, 16 to 20 COVID patients were hospitalized per day
As many as six people were sick enough to be in intensive care units each day, compared to as many as four patients in ICUs from July 1 to 4.
Case numbers are difficult to track because most people don't report home test results, county Public Health said, but it appears transmission dropped for the first time since mid-June, according to the California Department of Public Health.
From July 5 to 11, Shasta County's test positivity rate — the percentage of tests that came back positive for the virus from state labs — was 6.2%
From June 28 to July 4, that number was 8.5%
The percentage of people in Shasta County who are fully vaccinated remained at 54% this summer, compared to 77% statewide.
4 new deaths reported; COVID cases rising again
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Four more people in Shasta County died from COVID-19, according to the Public Health Department.
They are a woman in her 70s, a woman and a man in their 80s and a woman age 90 or older.
Their deaths bring the total number of people reported to have died from COVID to 660 since the pandemic began in March 2020. Of those who died, 369 (56%) were men.
Case numbers are difficult to track because few people report home test results, but outbreak is high in Shasta County, according to the California Department of Public Health. Transmission grew steadily since early June. It's now at levels the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers substantial, meaning test positivity reached 8% or higher.
From June 28 to July 4, Shasta County's test positivity rate — the percentage of tests that came back positive from state labs — went up to 8.5%
From June 21 to 27, that number was 7.6%.
From June 7 to 13, it was less than half that at 3.8%.
"Hospitalizations increased slightly over the last week but have stayed relatively low compared to the fall 2021 delta surge and the January 2022 omicron surge," Shasta County Public Health said.
That said, the Fourth of July weekend brought some good news. From July 1 to Monday, the number of COVID patients in Shasta County hospitals dropped slightly to 16-20 per day, compared to 21-25 per day from June 23 to June 30, according to county Public Health data. However, the number of patients sick enough to land in intensive care units stayed the same: Two to four per day.
Epidemiologists haven't found the latest virulent variant — the BA.5 omicron sub-variant — among COVID samples the county sent to state labs for testing, but there could still be cases here, Public Health said. Like its parent variant, BA.5 "spreads very quickly and easily."
COVID hospitalizations
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Deaths by age group covid
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COVID cases/deaths by gender
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Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and entertainment stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: COVID-19 in Shasta County: Death toll at 664 since pandemic's start
