Clark County adds 326 new COVID-19 cases, zero deaths
Clark County reported 326 new COVID-19 cases but no new deaths during the previous day, the Southern Nevada Health District reported Friday.
The updated figure pushed total cases of the disease caused by the new coronavirus to 342,939 and 6,170 deaths.
Two-week averages of new cases and deaths, test positivity rate and hospitalization figures were unavailable because the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services did not update its data over the Thanksgiving holiday. The next update from the state will come on Monday.
The Nevada Hospital Association also did not update its reporting on COVID-19-related hospitalizations during the holiday week.
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The health district updated its reporting on so-called breakthrough cases in which those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are still infected, showing 578 new cases, 35 hospitalizations and eight deaths over the past week.
That pushed county totals to 13,476 confirmed breakthrough cases, resulting in 687 hospitalizations and 210 deaths.
Breakthrough infections are expected, as the three COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the U.S. are not 100 percent effective. But public health experts say all provide added protection against severe illness and death.
The numbers in Clark County bear that out, as the death rate among the fully vaccinated in the county was 18 out of 100,000 residents, far lower than the rate of 504 per 100,000 residents among the unvaccinated and partly vaccinated.
Most breakthrough deaths — 87 percent — have occurred among people ages 65 and above, the reporting shows. They have been evenly divided between those with underlying conditions and those without.
Breakthrough cases continued to increase as a percentage of the total cases in the county, accounting for 24.28 percent of all confirmed infections in November. That is likely because of the increasing percentage of vaccinated residents and the waning protection provided by the vaccines, which resulted in the recent government decision to recommend booster shots for adults 50 and older and expand eligibility for the shots to all adults.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.