Tippecanoe County's 'significant' increase in COVID-19 approaching worst peak in pandemic

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – At the height of the pandemic, before Tippecanoe County residents could get the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, the daily averages of new cases were near 250, approaching 300.

After vaccines started being administered, the daily number of new COVID-19 cases dropped as low as eight per day, according to data presented at a called press conference of the Tippecanoe County Health Department Wednesday.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words," said Dr. Jeremy Adler, county health official, as he showed a graphic with a dramatic increase in the number of positive cases in the past week.

Adler noted on the presentation slide a peak in November and December 2020, when the instances of new cases per day numbered around 250 and approaching 300, with a peak averaging of 213.

"Shortly after that," Adler added, "the vaccines were introduced and our numbers began to drop. Then in March, the alpha variant, or the UK variant, came along, and we saw a little bit of a bump up in our cases, at that time peaking at 50 new cases per day."

The latest variant, omicron, has not been reported in Indiana as of Thursday.

In September, the daily average of new cases dropped to as low as 8 cases a day.

"In November, cases began to rise again," Adler said. "There has been quite a significant steep climb in the number of new cases that we're seeing. We've had days where new cases have been in the 150s, 170s. Today, for example, in the 160s."

The current seven-day average is 140 new cases of COVID-19, Adler added, the highest numbers seen in the county since June.

"We are of course monitoring this ongoing trend. It's very concerning that number has increased so significantly. Because of this increase, our seven-day positivity rate is 12.1%."

That positivity rate impacts the hospitals within the county, Adler added.

"As a result our hospitals are quite busy with COVID-19 patients and are quite strained."

Top medical advisors within Tippecanoe County also attended the meeting: Dr. Christopher Mansfield, infectious disease physician and associate chief medical officer for adult hospital medicine at IU Health Arnett; Daniel Wickert, vice president of medical affairs for Franciscan Health Lafayette; and chief medical officer, Protect Purdue Health Center.

West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis also participated in the panel, stressing the need to continue wearing masks while indoors.

Both hospitals reported a significant increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations immediately after Thanksgiving, each seeing as many as 41 patients hospitalized for the virus on the Monday after the holiday. The daily census of COVID-19 patients has remained as high in the days since Thanksgiving, the doctors noted.

The CDC considers Tippecanoe County to be a county of high community transmission, Adler said, noting a "very significant level of community transmission of COVID-19" in the county.

"Because we are considered a community of high transmission," Adler said, "the CDC does recommend that everyone, including those of us who are fully vaccinated, wear masks in indoor public settings. This is very important as the level of the virus in the community is quite high."

Adler said he gave leaders within the Tippecanoe School Corporation that advice as the school board approached a vote on maintaining a mask mandate. Keep the mandate in effect, Adler advised.

The TSC board Wednesday evening decided masks would be optional at their schools once the burden of responsibility cited in Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb's emergency order no longer rests with public schools.

Adler noted that 56.4% of Tippecanoe County residents are fully vaccinated, with just over 30,000 having received the booster doses.

The county has experienced over 31,400 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started; 279 people have died, as of Thursday.

COVID-19 deaths in Tippecanoe County show a stark disparity between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, Adler detailed. Of the individuals who have died, 74% were unvaccinated.

"This is real world, local data that supports the effectiveness of vaccines," Alder said.

Deanna Watson is the executive editor at the Journal & Courier. Contact her at dwatson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @deannawatson66.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Health officer: Tippecanoe County sees 'significant' increase in COVID-19