County’s COVID-19 cases up, more deaths reported
As of Monday, July 19, Bandera County has an estimated 24 active COVID-19 cases and there have now been 30 deaths in the county attributed to the virus, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
Peterson Health hospital reported 12 people are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19. Two weeks ago, the hospital reported three people were hospitalized.
“We encourage the community to help us mitigate the spread of COVID-19, which includes receiving the vaccine,” said Cory Edmondson, Peterson Health President and CEO. “We are experiencing an uptick in our admissions at the hospital as well as the positivity rate of those being tested. It seems that we are seeing sicker patients than we did 12 months ago.”
Peterson Health has expanded access to the COVID-19 vaccine through ongoing clinics held every Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. as well as every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
The vaccination clinics will be held at Peterson Urgent Care, located at 130 W. Main Street in Kerrville. The one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be administered at these clinics.
Members of the community who would like to receive the vaccine may schedule an appointment by calling 830.258.7373, and selecting option 2.
In Bandera County, vaccines are being offered at CVS at 1202 Main Street. Appointments can be made online, but walkins are also being accepted.
The rise in cases, deaths and hospitalizations continues on a statewide level.
COVID-19 cases in Texas rose sharply in the past week, with 22,773 new cases reported by the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University, which is close to double the number of cases the week before.
192 deaths were reported in Texas last week, bringing the number of statewide fatalities to 51,652, according to DSHS.
Hospitalizations of lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients also rose sharply, to 2,834 currently in Texas hospitals as of Sunday, up nearly 50 percent from last week.
The Centers for Dis ease Control reports that 99 percent of deaths attributed to the virus are people who have not been vaccinated.
The number of Texans who are fully vaccinated rose slightly to 12.353 million, 42.3 percent of all the total state population.
Meanwhile, in Bandera County, 43.1 percent of the population aged 12 and up have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 38.46 percent of that age range have been fully vaccinated.