Milam County Judge Steve Young had the grim task of reporting yet another death, the 55th, to COVID-19 Tuesday night and sent out yet another warning to those still healthy, but unvaccinated.
“The person had not been vaccinated. Last week we reported a similar case of the death of a person who needlessly died, because they had not been vaccinated. Currently, we have 19 Milam County residents hospitalized with COVID-19 and six of those are on ventilators. We currently have 192 active, confirmed cases in Milam County, which is more than we have ever had. Our previous high was 173 back in December 2020.
“I fear this is not the last. Please be mindful that 80 percent of the new cases we report are due to the Delta variant, which is so much more transmissible than the other variants. It seems to be more transmissible with younger people as well,” Young said over the past weekend in reporting the 54th death which occurred Thursday. “Remember that over 99 percent of those admitted to a hospital with COVID-19 have not been vaccinated. So getting vaccinated is the way to prevent getting ill, losing work, infecting others, going to a hospital or worse. Please get vaccinated.”
Gov. Greg Abbott, who has tested positive for COVID-19 and is getting antibody therapy, said, before his diagnosis, that the state would not allow mask mandates by any government entities, but some school districts, small to big, are defying the order and implementing a mask mandate.
While Milam County schools are not mandating masks, staff and students can wear them if they choose to do so.
During the public forum segment of the Rockdale Independent School District board meeting Monday night, Collier Perry urged board members to call for a mask mandate.
“I appeal to you tonight to establish a mask mandate for the Rockdale Independent School District,” he said.
He then read a letter from the superintendent of the Austin ISD that appeared in the Austin American-Statesman. The letter explained why AISD was in defiance of the governor’s executive order on mask mandates.
But for now masks in area schools remain an option, not a requirement.
The highly-contagious Delta variant which has caused a surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, largely among the unvaccinated, is the driving force in the renewed debates about masking, vaccines and public health protocols as Americans continue to return to offices and schools.
Texas A&M Today spoke about the current state of the pandemic with Dr. Gerald W. Parker, director of the Pandemic & Biosecurity Policy Program within the Bush School of Government.
“As of Aug. 9, there have been 407,560,705 vaccines delivered and 351,933,175 vaccine doses administered. Fifty percent of the United States population is fully vaccinated with over 80 percent of the most vulnerable—65 years of age and older—fully vaccinated. The vaccination uptake slowed significantly from May through July, 50 percent of the U.S. population remains unvaccinated, and a new highly-contagious SARS-CoV-2 variant, Delta, emerged in India last spring spreading globally. Delta became the predominate strain circulating in the United States and Texas during the summer of 2021,” Parker said.
“CDC changed their mask guidance because of the evolving nature of SARS-CoV-2 and the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. New data show there are increasing breakthrough COVID-19 cases in fully-vaccinated individuals. Even though breakthrough cases leading to hospitalization or death are rare, new data also show that fully-vaccinated individuals who become infected could be contagious and a source of transmission putting immune compromised and unvaccinated people at risk,” Parker said.
In fact, there are already calls for booster shots in phases to fight the Delta onslaught.
“We will continue to vaccinate in the county. We plan to start providing booster shots to those who are immune deficient next week. This will be for those who have received Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations. If you qualify for a booster shot, call 254-697-7000 and get on the list. No booster shot has been approved for J&J,” the judge said.
“We will vaccinate (non-booster) in Rockdale at the Medical Clinic on Thursday and in Cameron on Friday at the Health Department, beginning at 9 a.m. each day,” Young said. “We will provide free COVID-19 testing for any Milam County resident with symptoms on Thursday at the Cameron Fire Department, beginning at 9 a.m.”
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