Eddy County goes 10 days without any new active COVID-19 cases

It has been a year since COVID-19 first hit North Dakota. On Sunday, March 15, 2020, Gov. Burgum held an 8 p.m. press conference declaring schools and public buildings closed as the state began to assess the impact the pandemic would have. The next day there were 37 coronavirus tests conducted with one active case reported in the entire state. A lot has happened since then, as we've dealt with the pandemic's deadly blow and extensively covered testing, sickness, recovery and loss from COVID-19.

Now, no news is good news it seems. The good news of this writing is that there have been no active coronavirus cases reported in Eddy County for 10 straight days, from Monday, March 8 to Wednesday, March 17. Testing numbers have also dropped dramatically, prompting Eddy County Public Health to cease their Tuesday morning testing events. Residents who wish to be tested for COVID-19 should call Eddy County Public Health at 701-947-5311, as testing is still available by appointment as time allows.

Inversely, vaccinations have soared in recent weeks. More than 1,300 vaccines had been administered in Eddy County as of Wednesday, and 26.1% of the county's people have been fully vaccinated.

Statewide, 25.5% of residents had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with 15% of the population considered to be fully up to date on their vaccinations. Slightly more females than males have opted to receive the vaccine, with nearly 18% of North Dakota women completing their vaccinations compared to 13.5% of men.

All Eddy County residents, 16 years of age and older, are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at this time. The public health office is scheduling vaccinations by appointment. Vaccines are also available at Central Pharmacy, where they are scheduling appointments for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. President Joe Biden announced last week that he had directed the Department of Health and Human Services to purchase 100 million doses of the vaccine, which is known as a "non-replicating viral vector vaccine."

Scientists make the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by using an adenovirus, which is a type of virus that causes the common cold, which has been inactivated. Scientists alter the adenovirus so that it can enter cells, but it cannot replicate and make people sick. The adenovirus then carries the genetic material from the coronavirus into human cells, tricking them into producing coronavirus-spike proteins -- the part it uses to attach to cells. The immune system then reacts against these components of the coronavirus.

Nationwide, 113 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. More than 29 million cases have been reported since the pandemic began. The country's death toll surpassed 534,000 as of Wednesday. However, case numbers have steadily fallen in recent weeks, with the exception of four days in late February. Since the highest, seven-day average of 249,378 cases on January 11, 2021, the seven-day moving average has decreased 78.1%, providing an encouraging sign of continued progress against the virus.

However, as case numbers decline across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely tracking variants of SARS-CoV-2. Three variants of concern have been detected in the United States: B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1. A total of 3,701 B.1.1.7 variant cases have been reported in 50 jurisdictions. One hundred eight cases attributed to B.1.351 in 23 jurisdictions, and 17 cases attributed to P.1 in 10 jurisdictions, have also been detected in the United States. CDC and partners are increasing the numbers of specimens sequenced in laboratories around the country. The number of variants reported will likely increase as more specimens are sequenced, and if the frequency of variants increases. Studies are underway to determine whether variants are more transmissible, cause more severe illness, or are likely to evade immunity brought on by prior illness or vaccination.

CDC recently released data showing that the risks for COVID-19 illness, hospitalization, and death differ by race and ethnicity.

•American Indian and Alaska Native people were 3.7 times more likely than non-Hispanic white people to be hospitalized, and 2.4 times more likely to die from COVID-19 infection.

•Hispanic and Latino people were 3.1 times more likely than non-Hispanic white people to be hospitalized, and 2.3 times more likely to die from COVID-19 infection.

As time goes on, more studies will be done to help us better understand the virus' impact on the world.