About 1/3 of adult Nevadans have had at least 1 shot of COVID-19 vaccine

Nevada is nearing another milestone in its war with the coronavirus as nearly one-third 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.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.