Sheridan County numbers, Wyoming highest rate of COVID deaths and FDA advisors review Pfizer’s vaccine for kids

According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wyoming now has the highest rate of COVID deaths in the United States.

Cowboy State Daily reported that Wyoming had 11.9 deaths per 100,000 people in the last seven days, overtaking Montana (whose rate is 11.1 per 100,000 people) to have the highest death rate in the nation. See that report here. 

The report from the CDC came on the day the Wyoming Legislature convened for a special session that began at 10 a.m. The session is intended to allow lawmakers the opportunity to consider legislation that addresses the COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Wyoming that have yet to surface from the Biden Administration. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Sheridan County has had 4,064 lab confirmed cases, adding 18 in the last 24 hours. Probable cases in the county total 1,205, adding 13 in the last 24 hours.

Currently in Sheridan County there are 213 active cases in the community. COVID-19 Public Information Officer Jennifer Graves reports that 36 patients have recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours.  

Seventeen patients are hospitalized fighting the virus and 49 Sheridan County residents have lost their lives to COVID-19. 

With the highest death rate in the nation and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention level of community transmission listed as HIGH. 

With ongoing guidance from local health officials along with transmission indicators provided by the Wyoming Department of Health and statistics collected by Sheridan County that include local hospitalization levels, School District #2 said in a press release Monday, Oct. 25, that the district will remain consistent with the COVID-19 plan as approved on Aug. 30. That plan requires all students, staff and visitors to wear masks inside all School District #2 buildings.

The Associated Press reported today that kid-size doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine may be getting closer as government advisers  began deliberating Tuesday whether there’s enough evidence that the shots are safe and effective for 5- to 11-year-olds.

According to the report, a study of elementary school children found the Pfizer shots are nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection although the youngsters received just a third of the dose given to teens and adults.

In a preliminary analysis last week, Food and Drug Administration reviewers said that protection would “clearly outweigh” the risk of a very rare side effect in almost all scenarios of the pandemic. Now FDA’s advisers are combing through that data to see if they agree with that analysis.  

The AP reported that if the FDA authorizes those kid-size doses, there’s still another step: Next week, the CDC will have to decide whether to recommend the shots and which youngsters should get them.

For more information on community transmission, visit the CDC COVID Data Tracker and select “Wyoming” and “Sheridan County.”

More COVID-19 information is available at www.sheridancounty.com/covid-19/.