Delaware Public Health District Commissioner Shelia Hiddleson was before Delaware City Council on Monday to provide her weekly update on COVID-19 data trends in Delaware County.
Hiddleson began her presentation by giving the up-to-date vaccine statistics for Delaware County. According to the Ohio Hospital Association, 79% of county residents eligible to receive the vaccine have at least started the vaccination process. Of the entire eligible population, 75% of residents are now fully vaccinated.
As for active COVID-19 cases in Delaware County, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) reported 455 cases over the last two weeks. Per the Center for Disease Control, there is a 5.36% positivity rate in the county.
Specific to the city of Delaware, Hiddleson said 69% of the population has started the vaccination process, and 65% are now fully vaccinated. A total of 125 cases have been reported by ODH over the past two weeks.
With schools now back in session, Hiddleson said the DPHD will be closing monitoring the real-time data coming from the schools to quickly determine if there are any outbreaks. Speaking specifically of Delaware City Schools, Hiddleson said the district works well with the health district to stay on top of any developing issues.
“We’re very fortunate in that part. Delaware City Schools is an excellent partner with us in trying to make sure that we keep as many children in school as possible, and keep them there as safely as possible,” Hiddleson said.
Following the statistics related to vaccination and positivity rates, Hiddleson provided some statistics on vaccine reactions according to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). According to Hiddleson’s report, there have been two to five VAERS reports of anaphylaxis per million people vaccinated thus far, representing the most often reported of what Hiddleson deemed unusual reactions.
For those who received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, Hiddleson said there have been 42 confirmed cases of thrombosis out of the 13 million who have received that specific vaccine. She said the thrombosis has typically been found in women less than 50 years old.
“Those are some of the conversations people need to have with their physicians if they fall into that group, whether or not the risk of having the disease outweighs the risks and benefits of the vaccine,” Hiddleson said. “We always encourage people to have that conversation with their physician. Their physician knows their health the best and can help them to make the best decision based on their health.”
As for myocarditis, which has typically been found in male adolescents and young adults, there have been 762 confirmed cases identified in the VAERS system, according to Hiddleson.
