50% of eligible Nevadans now vaccinated against COVID-19, state says

Nevada passed a major milestone in its battle against the coronavirus Friday as it topped the 50 percent mark for vaccination of eligible residents.

New COVID-19 data posted by the state Department of Health and Human Services to the state’s coronavirus website showed nearly 1.34 million vaccinations completed, representing 50.02 percent of Nevadans 12 and older who are eligible to receive the shots. The percentage of eligible Nevadans who have been vaccinated has increased by 1.01 percentage points in the past week, state data shows.

The figure, which includes only those who gave a Nevada address when they filled out their vaccination cards, brought the percentage of all Nevadans vaccinated to 42.52 percent.

Gov. Steve Sisolak applauded the achievement in a news release, which also noted that more than 60 percent of eligible Nevadans have now initiated vaccination.

“This is an incredible milestone to reach and I am so thankful to everyone who made the choice to protect themselves, their family and their community by getting the COVID-19 vaccine,” he said. “We know there is more work to be done and we will remain focused on promoting vaccine opportunities throughout the state. I urge everyone who has been vaccinated to tell a friend, family member or loved one about the importance of vaccination and encourage them to get their shot too.”

Data Guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The state also reported 1,207 new COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths over the preceding day, raising state totals to 378,700 cases and 6,280 deaths.

New cases trend slightly lower

The number of new cases remained above the 14-day moving average of 928, which was down slightly from the average of 932 the previous day. After steadily rising through June and July, the rate has decreased slightly from the 937 average reported at the end of the preceding week.

Deaths were well above the two-week average of 12 per day, which increased by one from Thursday.

The two-week average for fatalities reached a recent low of three deaths per day and stuck there from mid-May through most of June before it began climbing, slowly at first then faster in July. It hit a recent high of 17 deaths per day Aug. 11 before receding to its current level, the state data shows.

There have been 99 deaths recorded in Nevada this week, far fewer than the 155 deaths recorded from Aug. 8-14.

The state positivity rate continued its recent decline, dropping another 0.3 percentage point to 14.9.

The rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, has been decreasing steadily since reaching a recent high of 16.3 percent Aug. 13.

Hospitalizations of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients increased to 1,297, up 46 from the preceding day. Hospitalizations have been growing since June but recently peaked at 1,317 reported Aug. 11 before declining slightly, state data shows.

State and county health agencies often redistribute the daily data after it is reported to better reflect the date of death or a test 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.

Breakthrough cases double

The state also updated its reporting on breakthrough cases and deaths involving fully vaccinated officials, showing 451 such COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalization and 63 deaths through Thursday. The number of breakthrough cases leading to hospitalization more than doubled from the 225 cases reported Aug. 11, while deaths of vaccinated patients from COVID-19 increased by 14.

The Southern Nevada Health District, meanwhile, has reported 304 breakthrough cases involving hospitalizations and 87 breakthrough deaths in Clark County through Thursday. All told, it has received reports of 6,309 breakthrough cases, most of which did not require hospitalization, according to the health district’s coronavirus website. Even so, the reports account for only 0.6 percent of all fully vaccinated people, the website notes.

The state does not tally breakthrough cases that don’t involve hospitalization or death.

The health district also reported 700 new COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths over the preceding day.

That pushed totals for the county to 296,722 cases and 5,032 deaths from the disease.

The county’s two-week test positivity rate continued its downward march, dropping by 0.4 percentage point to 14.4 percent, according to state data.

The county figures are reflected in the state totals.

Contact Mike Brunker at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.