Crook least vaccinated county in Wyoming

Wyoming’s remaining public health orders have been extended for another two weeks, according to a press release from the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).

Valid until May 16, the orders continue the mask use and physical distancing requirements for educational institutions and allow indoor events of more than 500 people at 50 percent of venue capacity, with mask protocols for large indoor events.

The orders have been extended while the vaccine program continues to roll out. At this time, almost 25% of adults in Wyoming have been fully vaccinated, including 32% of adults over the age of 18 and over 55 percent of adults over the age of 65.

However, according to estimates put together by the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department, Crook matches Campbell in being the two least vaccinated counties in Wyoming. At this time, only 14% of residents in either county are vaccinated against COVID-19.

By comparison, the county with the highest percentage of vaccinated people is Teton at 53%. However, most counties are somewhere in the 20-30% vaccinated range.

Crook County Public Health reports that a total of 1238 first shots and 1006 second shots have now been administered, an increase of 15 first and 48 second doses since last week. This includes the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is once again available, as well as the Moderna vaccine, which has been more commonly administered in this county.

Ongoing Stats

No new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Crook County over the last week. The county’s overall totals therefore remain at 396 confirmed and 33 probable cases.

Across Wyoming, confirmed cases have risen by 372 over the last week and now stand at 49,224. The number of active cases has also modestly increased by 31 and is now reported to be 441.

Rally Infections

In answer to a question that caused plenty of curiosity last summer, a new study published by the Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2021 has identified at least 649 cases of COVID-19 across America that were caused by attendance at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

The Centers for Disease Control requested information on lab or clinically diagnosed cases detected after travel to the rally from health departments across the nation. Of 54 jurisdictions, 72% provided data and 30 of the 39 who responded reported cases.

Among the 463 primary cases, more than half were from the bordering states, including Wyoming. An additional 186 secondary and tertiary cases were reported among people who did not attend the event, but had contact with someone who did.

The study places the number of identified cases at 140 per 140,000 attendees. However, it points out that, “It is likely that the true national impact of the Sturgis event is underestimated because attendees with asymptomatic or mild illness may not have been tested.”

The authors of the study also point out that their report is limited by the fact that health departments could not interview all cases due to the volume of infections they were dealing with, while some attendees were reluctant to report contact names and detailed travel history. However, the authors feel their study highlights the risk of virus transmission at mass gathering events, resulting in preventable illnesses and, in the case of rally, at least one reported death.