New COVID cases dropped somewhat in Riley County over the past week, but hospitalizations remain fairly steady.
Nine positive patients were hospitalized in Manhattan Thursday with at least four being treated in the ICU. Health Department Director Julie Gibbs says most of the hospitalizations involve those who have not been vaccinated. The health department is planning vaccine clinics over the weekend, including one Saturday at Manhattan Town Center.
The other will take place at Little Apple Brewing Company from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday where the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be administered. Those who get vaccinated will receive $50 gift cards to the brewery.
As for when vaccines might come online for those 12 and under, Gibbs says it’s anybody’s guess right now.
Younger people are testing positive for COVID at higher rates than at earlier parts of the pandemic. Gibbs explains some of the local trends they’ve been seeing recently.
Gibbs says they’re hoping to thwart off any further increases in new cases by encouraging masking in public as well as vaccines. The state of Kansas’ running seven day average is 87 new COVID admissions per day in Kansas.
Breakthrough COVID cases (that is fully vaccinated individuals who test positive for COVID-19), account for only 1 percent of the total cases in Riley and Pottawatomie counties. There have been 94 breakthrough cases in Riley County and 24 breakthrough cases in Pottawatomie County. Those statistics are according to Gibbs and Pottawatomie County Health Department Director Leslie Campbell.
Full COVID-19 weekly data is available on both the Riley and Pottawatomie County websites.
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