The Hays County Local Health Department reported six COVID-19 fatalities in its weekly report.
The county also reported 185 active cases, 10.96 active cases per 100,000, six hospital admissions and two hospitalizations per 100,000 in the weekly report, which includes information from March 7-9.
The seven-day positivity rate for Wednesday’s report was 4.57%.
The Hays County Local Health Department recently made changes regarding COVID-19 data reported to align itself with how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculates whether a community has a high, medium or low transmission.
Hays County has a low COVID-19 transmission rate as of Thursday, according to the CDC.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional 2,145 lab-confirmed cases Wednesday. There have now been 5,451,561 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 84,645 fatalities as of Wednesday. There are currently 2,483 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Wednesday is 3.12%.
At Texas State University there have been 4,385 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1, 2021 — 3,680 among students and 705 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 62 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.
COVID-19 metric definition, courtesy of Hays County:
New cases: Total new cases since the last report. This includes both PCR and antigen positive tests. This is a change from the previous 2 years reporting that separated PCR tests (confirmed) from antigen tests (probable).
Case Rate per 100K (7-day average): The number of new cases per 100,000 population. This is calculated by dividing the 7-day average by the county population and multiplying by 100,000. This standardizes the data in a way that makes it easy to compare data across areas with differing populations.
Active Cases: The number of new cases over the past 7 days. This number is a very broad estimate of the number of people who may be contagious.
Hospital Admissions (past 7 days): Total number of new COVID-19 hospital admissions in the past 7 days.
Hospitalizations per 100K (7-day average): Total number of new COVID-19 hospital admissions divided by the county population and multiplied by 100,00.
Fatalities: COVID-19 deaths reported in the past 7 days.
7-day Positivity Rate: Percentage of performed tests that were positive in the past 7 days. Calculated by dividing the number of positive test results by the total number of reported tests and multiplying by 100. Test positivity rate aims to measure the viral prevalence in a community but is also affected by testing strategies and availability.
Vaccine availability
In Hays County, “no appointment needed” vaccine clinics are available. Vaccines usually offered Monday-Friday at Christus Trinity Clinic (formerly Live Oak), 401 Broadway won’t be available until further notice, according to the Hays County Local Health Department. A walk-in Pfizer vaccine clinic takes place at Communicare in Kyle at 2810 Dacy Lane every Monday-Friday between 8-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m.
COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in San Marcos at multiple CVS pharmacies, multiple Walgreens pharmacies, both H-E-B pharmacies, B&J Pharmacy, San Marcos Family Medicine and Sam’s Club Pharmacy. Visit https://www.vaccines.gov to see other locations across the county. Check with each location to see if an appointment is required or if walk-in is accepted.
According to the DSHS, 142,068county residents are considered fully vaccinated — 65.98% of 215,309 eligible residents who are 5 years or older as of Wednesday. The DSHS stated that 166,287 Hays County residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose — 77.23% of eligible residents. Additionally, the DSHS stated that 55,634 Hays County citizens have received an additional vaccine dose as of Wednesday.
