COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Silverton, and residents are being urged by San Juan County Public Health to take precautions and get their vaccine boosters.
“There have been about 20 new cases of COVID-19 reported to public health in less than 2 weeks,” SJCPH Director Becky Joyce said in a news release. “Please wash your hands frequently, get vaccinated, and if you are experiencing symptoms, stay home and utilize the free At-home tests and masks available in the hallway of the Miner's Hospital.”
Twenty new cases may not sound like a lot, but San Juan County is Colorado’s least populated county, with only 705 residents, according to the 2020 census.
San Juan County Public Information Officer DeAnne Gallegos said there is no reason for alarm for those in the Silverton area.
“Luckily, Silverton has a high vaccination rate,” Gallegos said, “but we have so many seniors up here. This is a reminder to keep up with their vaccines. If they’re immunocompromised, they need to take precautions.”
Gallegos said she is grateful for the mobile vaccine clinics the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment began deploying in rural areas, one of which stopped by Thursday to administer vaccines for COVID-19 and the flu.
“This is the time of year when all the crud is going around,” Gallegos said. “It’s nice to have the buses come up here, but sometimes they can’t get here because of the weather.”
Silverton-area residents who missed Thursday’s mobile vaccine clinic can get their free vaccines and boosters at the San Juan County Public Health Department building in Silverton.
“It’s definitely not a community concern,” Gallegos said. “It’s a community alert.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends receiving a bivalent booster to decrease severity of illness, risk of hospitalization and death for those who have not already received one this fall.
According to the CDC’s website, those receiving booster shots is at an all-time low, since vaccines were rolled out in early 2021. Only about one in six people in the United States have received an updated COVID-19 booster. The CDC recommends that everyone ages 5 and older get an updated booster if it has been at least two months since their last COVID-19 dose. Children ages 6 months through 5 years who completed the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine primary series can also receive an updated COVID-19 booster.
molsen@durangoherald.com
An earlier version of this article used an incorrect title for DeAnne Gallegos.
