Las Vegas Review-Journal

■ Nearly one-third of adults in Nevada have received at least the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Nearly one-third have received at least first dose of COVID vaccine

- By Katelyn Newberg

Nevada is nearing another milestone in its war with the coronaviru­s as nearly onethird of all adult Nevadans have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to state data posted Friday.

Statewide, 779,415 residents — or 32.6 percent of Nevada’s approximat­ely 2.39 million adults — have received at least one shot, according to Department of Health and Human Services data.

And 437,471 of them — about 18.3 percent — have completed their vaccine doses, meaning they received either the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot or both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. That compares to a 17.9 percent completion rate in Clark County, the data shows.

Adult population­s for the state and county, which the Review-journal calculated using U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2019, do not account for eligible 16- and 17-year-olds who may have received a shot in Nevada.

Currently Nevadans 16-64 with underlying conditions are among those eligible for the vaccine. Starting April 5, all Nevadans 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

During a call with reporters on Friday, state vaccine official Candice Mcdaniel again urged Nevadans to be patient when eligibilit­y opens up, as not everyone will be able to get a shot immediatel­y.

“Although we expect an increased allocation, especially the week of April 5 as additional Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) product is manufactur­ed, it’s still obviously not going to be the exact amount we need to vaccinate everyone else who’s waiting,” Mcdaniel said.

Meanwhile, state data showed there were 445 new coronaviru­s cases reported throughout Nevada on Friday, along with 11 additional deaths.

Cumulative totals rose to 302,616 cases and 5,226 deaths.

New cases were well above the moving 14-day average of daily reported cases, which remained at 193.

Deaths were also well above the moving two-week average of daily recorded fatalities, which remained at four.

Both averages, however, are continuing a downward trend that started in mid-january.

State and county health agencies often redistribu­te the daily data after it is reported to better reflect the date of death or onset of symptoms, which is why the moving-average trend lines frequently differ from daily reports and are considered better indicators of the direction of the outbreak.

The state’s two-week positivity rate, which essentiall­y tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, remained flat at 4.5 percent.

As of Friday, there were 275 people in Nevada hospitaliz­ed with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, which is two more than the day prior, state data shows.

Although hospitaliz­ations fluctuate day by day, totals have been decreasing along with other disease metrics since January.

Clark County on Friday reported 366 additional coronaviru­s cases, along with nine new deaths, according to data posted to the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronaviru­s website.

The county’s two-week positivity rate dropped below the state’s average after a decrease of 0.1 percentage points, reaching 4.4 percent, state data shows.

 ?? Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-journal @Erik_verduzco ?? Touro University Nevada physician assistant student Madison Ginis extracts COVID-19 vaccines from vials March 10 at the Adult Day Care Center of Las Vegas.
Erik Verduzco Las Vegas Review-journal @Erik_verduzco Touro University Nevada physician assistant student Madison Ginis extracts COVID-19 vaccines from vials March 10 at the Adult Day Care Center of Las Vegas.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States