Graham County surpasses 10,000 case total
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY — The number of new COVID-19 cases in Graham County has skyrocketed with 211 new cases in the past two days alone.
This has brought Graham County to a total of 10,026 cases for the course of the pandemic and 1,213 currently active cases.
The county has had a total of 8,652 recoveries for the pandemic, with 161 deaths (two so far this year). Graham County has the second-worst COVID transmission rate of Arizona’s 15 counties (Navajo being the worst), and the county’s most populous area, the Safford ZIP Code, is leading the way with more than 100 new cases over the past two days.
Recently, Mount Graham Regional Medical Center called on the community to help lower transmission rates in light of the more contagious Omicron variant.
The hospital is urging community members to 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 said.
In the week ended Jan. 11, the hospital said it had had an average of four COVID-19 patients per day over the previous two weeks. The percentage of patients hospitalized during the same period who did not receive COVID-19 vaccines was 89.5%.
While the Omicron variant has been shown to be more transmissible, it also showed milder symptoms and is more likely to be in the upper respiratory tract with cough and cold symptoms. Previously, COVID-19 and its variants were more dangerous — especially for the elderly, obese, or those with pre-existing conditions. These variants attacked the victims’ lower respiratory tract. As of Tuesday, Arizona’s case rate continues to rise.
ADHD released data on rates of COVID-19 by immunization status. Click here to review data showing that unvaccinated people were nearly 5 times more likely to contract COVID-19 and 31 times more likely to die from it in November.
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 older. In addition, children as young as 5 can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and adults can receive any of the three. The health department provides the vaccine on Mondays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and the Pfizer vaccine from 5 years of age on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Fridays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Click here to sign up 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 24 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday, bringing the total for the pandemic to 1,964.
As of Wednesday, Greenlee County had about 346 active cases while recording 1,588 recoveries and 30 deaths over the course of the pandemic.
With the new cases, Greenlee County has reached the second-lowest case rate by county in the state at 18,062 per 100,000 people. Greenlee now trails Yavapai County with 17,722 cases per 100,000 people for the lowest transmission rate in the state. Cochise County is just behind Greenlee with 18,571 cases per 100,000 people. The state average is 23,423 cases per 100,000 people, and Graham County has 26,057 cases per 100,000 people, which is the second highest rate after Navajo County, which is at 28,499 cases per 100,000 people.
MGRMC is a Tier IV trauma center that works with local air transport agencies to transfer patients to a higher tier trauma center when needed.
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