Coronavirus cases have picked up again in Cowley County, especially among children, according to the City-Cowley County Health Department.
In an update from County Public Health Officer Thomas Langer Friday, over 55 percent of new cases in the county for November so far are ages 0-18.
“This is the first time since the pandemic began that the youngest segment of the population has been affected at a higher rate than adults,” Langer wrote. “The bump in activity has effected on grade school attendance in the county.
“Since this new activity is occurring within the 14 days post Halloween/Arkalalah, some people are questioning if the increased activity is directly connected to those activities.
“The answer to that question is not definitive.”
Langer said the county has returned to a more “normal routine” in 2021 and have opted to not stay as individually isolated as compared to the same time period one year ago.
“The evidence currently supports that the spread of the virus is greatest in the population where the least amount of immunity exists (children and other non-immune
people),” he said.
The positivity rate for the last week in Cowley County was 7.05 percent, which is up slightly from the 5.89 percent rate in the last week of October when the county saw a period of declining illness for more than 14 days.
Since June 1, there have been 1,862 new cases of COVID-19 in the county with 1,677 — or 90 percent — of new cases among the non-vaccinated.
In 2020, there were just five cases in the county among those ages 5-11 for the month of November and 41 total 0-18 for the month. As of Nov. 12, 2021, there are 135 total COVID cases in the county for ages 0-18 and 54 ages 5-11.
Overall, 550 children in the county ages 0-18 have confirmed to be positive for the virus so far in 2021. That number totaled 67 for all of 2020.
The health department said the Delta variant — which causes a higher degree of infections for younger populations — is a factor in the increased numbers this year.
Overall, Cowley County has tallied 5,926 cases of the virus since than pandemic began and 127 deaths.
No additional deaths have so far been reported this month.
“This is joyful news compared to the same time period one year ago,” Langer said.
Since Oct. 22, Cowley County has seen a jump of 355 news cases and 243 so far for the first 12 days of November. October totaled 386 new cases for the entire month.
Cowley County has moved past the 50 percent fully vaccinated rate (50.5 percent) for all residents over 12 years of age based on data collected by the CDC, Langer reported.
“It is anticipated that the fully vaccinated numbers will climb for the overall population as families with children seek vaccination for children ages 5 through 12,” Langer said.
