The Sullivan County Health Department August 17th reported two additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 1,086. Thirty-eight of the cases were active.
Health Department Administrator Deborah Taylor reports about .6% of the total cases have been breakthrough cases. She says cases are milder for vaccinated residents than those who were not vaccinated.
The health department is aware of the Delta variant in Sullivan County. However, Taylor notes not everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 is tested for the variant. She explains the state randomly chooses tests sent to labs to test for variants, and the health department is notified if a variant has been found.
The Sullivan County Health Department has also seen a few reinfections with residents who tested positive last year and tested positive again this year.
As of August 16th, 31.9% of Sullivan County residents had completed vaccination. Taylor says that is low compared to the statewide total, which Missouri’s COVID-19 Dashboard shows is 43.2%. Taylor believes once the Food and Drug Administration approves the COVID-19 vaccines, attitudes will change, and more residents will be interested in getting them. She notes the vaccines currently only have emergency use authorization.
Taylor says school starting is a concern. She hopes to have a good school year with few quarantines and isolations in districts. She has talked to districts about guidelines and recommendations, and she believes the schools have done a “wonderful job” of keeping students safe by using mitigation strategies.
