Benton County added 202 cases of COVID-19 to its case count over the past week. According to the NY Times COVID Data Tracker, this is the highest number of weekly cases Benton County has reported so far during the pandemic. Hospitalizations due to the virus are up 34% in the county compared to two weeks ago. Hospitalizations are anticipated to decrease in coming weeks, however, as almost 75% of children aged 12 to 17 years in the county are now vaccinated.
Oregon reported at least 14,933 new cases of the virus within the past week, and 27 deaths over the weekend. ICU bed occupancy is still above 90 to 95% for six of the seven hospital regions in the state, with region 3 — Coos, Currey, Douglas, and Lane Counties — having ICU bed occupancy at nearly 50%.
Nation-wide, the U.S. reported at least 666,600 new cases and over 9,300 deaths related to COVID-19 in the past week. While these statistics are still grim, it was a third-straight week of declining case counts for the U.S., and fewer deaths compared to the week before.
COVID-19 Growing More Prevalent Amongst Children
According to an article published in The Oregonian, young children and teenagers are making up a growing percentage of Oregon’s COVID-19-positive cases. In September, cases of the virus in children and teens actually surpassed cases seen in the state’s elderly population.
The Oregon Health Authority demographic breakdown of COVID-positive cases confirms this. Per 100,000 people in Oregon, just over 11,700 children and teens below the age of 19 are now testing positive for the virus. In contrast, OHA reports that 10,300 cases per 100,000 people are occurring within the age group of 70 years and older.
This is concerning for parents and health officials, as children were the least vulnerable age group before the Delta variant spread throughout the country. However, with hundreds of thousands of children back in school, Delta is surging amongst young student populations.
Oregon Planning to Administer Booster Shots
The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup met this past Thursday and agreed that Oregon, along with several other northwestern states, should offer COVID-19 booster shots to those who have gotten their original two shots over six months ago. Similar to the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the workgroup approved multiple groups of people to be eligible for a third shot, including people aged 65-years and older, people in long-term care, people as young as 18 with underlying medical conditions, and employees of or those living in a situation that makes them vulnerable to high transmission rates — including those as young as 18.
This recommendation only applied for individuals who originally received their first two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Modera and Johnson & Johnson have not applied for or been granted the same emergency use authorization that Pfizer has for its booster.
According to an announcement released by OHA last week, Oregon does have enough of the Pfizer vaccine to supply these groups with an antibody-bumping booster shot; however, officials warn that there could be a rush to receive the shots and rollout may be slowed.
Benton County recommends that anyone wanting to receive a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine should speak to their healthcare provider, and so far, no mass booster clinics are planned.
New and Continuing Research into Antivirals Potential to Fight COVID
Multiple antiviral treatments are currently being researched to test the safety and efficacy of their use in treating individuals who test positive for COVID-19. In an article published by CNN summarizing the medications potential benefits, it is reported that at least three pharmaceutical companies are testing different antiviral treatments to combat the virus.
One thing to note about these antiviral medications is that they are all administered orally, in pill form. This is different from Remdesivir, which past-President Donald Trump was given when he fell ill. A patient must be in a medical facility where they can use IVs to receive Remdesivir. Oral antiviral pills, however, can be taken at home. Some of the current studies are conducting research specifically in non-hospitalized people who have tested positive for the virus, in hopes that a pill can be sent to COVID-positive individuals so they can recover without having to leave home.
So far in the trials conducted, the different antivirals have been found to decrease the amount of virus in a sick person’s body, resulting in less transmission to others and less time the individual may exhibit symptoms. This is hugely promising news that supports the idea that science may beat COVID-19.
Both Pfizer (the makers of the mRNA vaccine) and the company Roche and Atea Pharmaceuticals anticipate finishing their last rounds of trials by winter, and Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics recently announced they hope to seek FDA emergency use authorization for their antiviral pill by the end of 2021.
This is a weekly column updating the residents of Benton County on local, national, and international news on the pandemic. If you would like to make suggestions of topics to cover related to the virus, please email any resources or thoughts to covidupdate@corvallisadvocate.com.
By: Lauren Zatkos
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com