Covid-19 cases continue to increase, breakthrough cases a small percentage

Wednesday, the Indiana State Department of Health recorded 17 new Covid-19 cases in Dubois County.

This brings the total number of cases up to 6,461 since the pandemic began with 118 Dubois County residents losing their lives to the disease.

This data is pulled from the ISDH Covid-19 Dashboard at https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2393.htm, which is updated Monday through Friday typically around noon.

While events like the Jasper Strassenfest concern local health officials dealing with the spread of the coronavirus, it is just one of the many reinstated events that have the potential for spreading Covid-19. Any get-together, including weddings, church picnics, and other community events, have a potential impact on the number of cases in Dubois County.

For the second week in a row, Dubois County is seeing double-digit increases daily. And while the county isn’t seeing additional deaths, that metric only tells the end of a story for a percentage of the victims that contract the coronavirus and develop Covid-19. The catalyst in that is the number of rising cases which lead to more hospitalizations and potentially more deaths.

Unfortunately with the loss of state funding, the local test site has been closed since July 1 and this has somewhat closed the funnel of data for Dubois County through the health department. While the Delta variant is the predominant strain of the Covid-19 coronavirus impacting the country at this time, it is unknown how many local cases it is responsible for.

“It is hard for us to determine locally what variant is being spread through the community,” said Shawn Werner, administrative director of the Dubois County Health Department. “The only thing I can go off of is what the state provides. Right now that is 87.2 percent of the samples taken.”

“These viruses go in waves and it appears that what we are seeing is an uptick in the Delta variant,” Werner continued. “It’s anybody’s guess as to how long it’s going to last or how bad it is going to get.”

The increase in cases is concerning for health officials. But right now, the state isn’t mandating any specific measures be taken across the state. In Governor Holcomb’s most recent orders, he is relying on Hoosiers to take personal responsibility for the safety and welfare of themselves and others. Additionally, the local health departments and schools have been left to make their own determinations on any measures that will be enacted.

Werner continues to recommend the same preventative measures: Wear a mask if you’re in a crowded, public place or in a confined, indoor area, especially if you are susceptible to illness or viruses or if you have a compromised medical condition; practice social distancing; do your best to not touch your eyes, nose, and mouth; use sanitizer and sanitize high-contact surfaces; stay home if you are sick.

And, get vaccinated.

Werner said the health department has administered more than 22,000 doses of vaccine. According to the state vaccination dashboard here, 19,391 Dubois County citizens are fully vaccinated of the approximately 35,000 residents who are eligible to receive the vaccine — those who are 12 years of age and older.

Vaccinations are available from the Dubois County Health Department daily as well as local pharmacies and can be scheduled through the state’s site here.

According to state data, breakthrough cases are a tiny percentage of the new cases. Across the state, 2,967,326 Hoosiers are fully vaccinated. Among the vaccinated, there have been 5,323 breakthrough infections (.179 percent of fully vaccinated) with 185 hospitalizations (.006 percent of fully vaccinated) and 69 deaths (.002 percent of fully vaccinated). Regarding the deaths among the breakthrough cases, 94 percent of those were over the age of 65 with the average age being 79.