Active COVID-19 cases drop, but hospitalizations rise in Park County

Posted 5/13/21

The number of people actively infected with COVID-19 within Park County fell over the past week, but the number of hospitalizations related to the novel coronavirus has risen.

When the count of …

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Active COVID-19 cases drop, but hospitalizations rise in Park County

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The number of people actively infected with COVID-19 within Park County fell over the past week, but the number of hospitalizations related to the novel coronavirus has risen.

When the count of local active cases jumped to 34 earlier this month, Park County Health Officer Dr. Aaron Billin said it was largely due to people who had come to the Cody area from out of state. With those people being isolated, Billin predicted that the number would soon drop — and it did.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Wyoming Department of Health reported 19 active infections.

However, there were a total of four people hospitalized with the disease in the county as of Wednesday — one patient at Powell Valley Healthcare and three at Cody Regional Health.

From March through the start of May, Park County had no more than one person hospitalized with COVID-19 at a time, but that number rose to five on Sunday.

Meanwhile, more people continue to receive vaccinations against the disease, with some 370 folks receiving a dose in Park County over the past week.

As of Monday, the state reported that 9,700 people in the county had been fully vaccinated with doses from Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. That amounted to about 37.5% of the county’s adult population being immunized — above the state average of roughly 35%. Another 872 people in Park County had received an initial dose and were awaiting a second, according to state data.

Research on the vaccines have shown that they all are effective in reducing the number of severe cases of COVID-19. However, Dr. Billin recently shared a pair of new studies — which surveyed roughly 12,000 health care workers — indicating that Pfizer’s vaccines led to a significant drop in the percentage of asymptomatic cases, too.

“This is part of the gradually accumulating evidence that full vaccination significantly reduces asymptomatic carrying of the virus, making it less likely that masks are needed after complete vaccination,” Billin said. “The CDC has not changed their recommendations on this yet, but watch for it in the future.”

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