Photo By Jacqueline Marshall/Wyoming National Guard: New coronavirus cases continue to remain low throughout April and into May.
Additional death puts the total at 177 for pandemic
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – New confirmed cases of COVID have dropped significantly in Graham County since March with the county averaging about two new cases per day since then.
According to the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services, Graham County registered just 14 new confirmed cases in the past week, with one additional death to increase the total for the pandemic to 177.
The new cases pushed Graham County over a threshold, now standing at 12,001 total confirmed cases since the pandemic. It is the third-lowest total out of all of Arizona’s 15 counties, with the lesser populated La Paz County (5,211 cases), and Greenlee County (2,218 cases) being the only counties with less.
Greenlee County was listed as having a single new confirmed case in the past week. The county has listed a total of 33 deaths attributed to COVID since the start of the pandemic.
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) put out data regarding rates of COVID-19 by vaccination status. Click here to go through the data, which states that in March unvaccinated people had a 4.3 times greater chance of contracting COVID-19, a 13 times greater risk of hospitalization, and a 19 times greater risk of dying from it than those who have been fully vaccinated with a booster shot.
The Graham County Department of Health and Human Services offers free vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson and has booster shots for those 18 and over. Adults 50 and older or any adult with an underlying health condition are eligible to receive their second COVID-19 booster vaccination. Additionally, children 5 and up can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and adults can have any of the three. The health department provides the Moderna vaccine Thursdays from 1 – 5 p.m., and the Pfizer vaccine for those 5 and older on Thursdays from 5 – 7 p.m. Click here to register to receive a vaccine. Vaccines are also available at local pharmacies such as Palo Verde Pharmacy in Pima, and, in Greenlee County, at Gila Health Resources.