Leaders: Keep masks on as rate dips
Study: 26% of S.A. residents have COVID-19 antibodies Positivity rate reaches new low as vaccinations set record
As many as 26 percent of San Antonio residents have COVID-19 antibodies, according to a study from Texas Department of State Health Services and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston researchers.
A four-monthlong study of patients across the state, called Texas CARES, searched for antibodies in the Texans they tested.
“If you want to start to measure how frequent COVID-19 is in our population, looking at antibodies is one of the best ways to do that,” said Eric Boerwinkle, dean of the Uthealth School of Public Health.
The presence of antibodies — proteins in a patient’s immune system that fight off infections — tell researchers that those individuals had contracted the virus in recent months.
El Paso led the major cities with 29 percent of residents surveyed testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies, followed by Dallas with 27 percent, San Antonio with 26 percent, Houston at 22 percent, Brownsville with 20 percent and Austin with 15 percent.
Researchers gave nearly 7,000 participants a questionnaire on their health and multiple blood draws to evaluate their immune systems. They also evaluated more than 78,000 unidenti
With the positivity rate for the coronavirus the lowest it has been since the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District first started tracking it last April, local leaders are urging people not to toss their masks yet.
The rate fell to 2.3 percent Monday, from 5.6 percent this time last week, health officials said.
“That’s great news,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg exclaimed during the daily city-county briefing Monday. “But please, we’re reminding you not everybody in this community is vaccinated ... mask up and practice social distancing.”
The rate, calculated by dividing the total number of positive lab tests for the coronavirus that week by the number of tests administered, is a measure of how much the virus is spreading in San Antonio. Metro Health has said a number below 5 percent means the virus’ spread is manageable.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff also said a record number of vaccinations — 31,202 — were administered last week at area distribution sites.
A total of 416,797 people have received their first vaccine dose, while 232,004 are fully vaccinated, officials said.
Wolff also recalled President Joe Biden’s promise
for a return to normalcy by the Fourth of July, urging residents to continue safety precautions.
“That means we still have three months to go through to make sure we don't trigger something that could come back to haunt all of us,” he said.
On Monday, officials reported 166 new coronavirus cases, down from 193 on Sunday. The rolling seven-day average of new cases now stands at 176 per day, down from 312 a month ago and 2,062 two months ago.
Local hospitals are treating 188 patients for COVID-19, compared to 218 patients one week ago and down from 608 patients this time in February. Officials reported 19 new admissions Monday.
Of those hospitalized, 81 people are in intensive care units, with 46 people on ventilators to assist their breathing.
A month ago, there were 223 critically ill patients.
Dr. Rita Espinoza, chief of epidemiology with Metro Health, said contact tracing has not indicated an increase in cases as a result of spring break.
Last year at this time, vacation travel helped to kick off a surge in infections that lasted through summer.
University Health and Bexar County are launching a campaign to remind people that masks are a proven method to reduce the risk of infection and protect others, especially any time six feet of physical distance is hard to maintain.
Fully vaccinated people should also continue to wear their masks, practice social distancing and wash their hands frequently, health officials said.
People may record videos or share why they wear a mask via Twitter and Faceboook with hashtags #Whyiwearamasksa, #Bexartogether, #Micubrebocasa y #Bexarjuntos.
Health officials said people do not receive full protection from their vaccines until two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after the singledose Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
No new deaths were reported during Monday's briefing.
San Antonio surpassed the grim milestone of 3,000 deaths on Sunday after including a backlog of 74 deaths that were only recently confirmed to have been caused by COVID-19.
Since the pandemic began locally about a year ago, 202,716 Bexar County residents have tested positive for the coronavirus. A total 3,071 people have died from the virus.