By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – On Tuesday, the second death of a Graham County resident attributed to COVID-19 so far in 2022 was reported. The county saw its first death of the new year on Saturday, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
The new death brings the county’s total to 161 dead for the course of the pandemic stretching back into April of 2020.
According to the ADHS datasheet, Graham County reported 74 new cases on Tuesday to increase the total for the pandemic to 9,815. The county has seen an increase of 366 new cases in just the last five days. As of the last update from the Graham County Department of Health and Human Services, Graham County currently has 1,021 active cases, with 8,633 recoveries, and 161 deaths for the course of the pandemic.
Recently, the Mount Graham Regional Medical Center issued a request to the community to help lower transmission rates in the face of the more contagious Omicron variant.
The hospital is requesting community members practice recommended precautions in public and take COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots along with a seasonal flu shot. “These will help you avoid serious illnesses,” the statement read.
For the week ending Jan. 11, the hospital averaged four COVID-19 patients each day for the previous two weeks, according to its own data. The percent of patients hospitalized during that same time period who have not taken any COVID-19 vaccines was 89.5%.
While the Omicron variant has shown to be more transmissible it also has shown milder symptoms and is located more in the upper respiratory tract with cough and cold symptoms. Previously, COVID-19 and its variants have been more dangerous – especially to those who are elderly, obese or have pre-existing medical conditions. Those variants attacked victims’ lower respiratory tract. As of Tuesday, the rate of cases continues to increase in Arizona.
The ADHS put out data regarding rates of COVID-19 by vaccination status. Click here to go through the data, which states that in November unvaccinated people had nearly a 5 times greater chance of contracting COVID-19 and 31 times greater risk of dying from it.
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. Additionally, children 5 and up can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and adults can have any of the three. The health department provides the vaccine Mondays from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m., Thursdays from 2 – 5 p.m., and the Pfizer vaccine for those 5 and older on Thursdays from 5 – 7:30 p.m. and Fridays from 2 – 5 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.
Greenlee County
According to the Greenlee County Health Department, the county had 34 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, which put its total for the pandemic to 1,896.
As of Tuesday, Greenlee County had roughly 347 active cases while it registered 1,519 recoveries and 30 deaths for the course of the pandemic.
Greenlee County still has the lowest rate of cases by county in the state with 17,175 per 100,000 population. Greenlee is followed by Yavapai County with 17,388 cases per 100,000 population and Cochise County with 17,876 cases per 100,000 population. The state’s average is 22,892 cases per 100,000 population.
MGRMC is a Level IV Trauma Center that works with local air transportation agencies when necessary to transfer patients to a higher-level trauma center.
