Rising COVID-19 numbers in the Coastal Bend come as the U.S. appears to be in a fourth wave of the pandemic. Health experts said a waves of cases is defined as the number of cases rises with a defied peak, followed by a decline in numbers.
A chart from the CDC shows the U.S. had its first wave in April of 2020. A second wave in July 2020 and a third wave last November to January of 2021. Now as new cases steadily rise and vaccination rates remain low, health experts say a fourth wave is likely.
New data shows nationwide, more than 91 million people, live in a county considered to have "high" COVID-19 transmission and that includes everyone is Nueces County. The CDC says a county has high transmission is it has a 100 or more positive cases per hundred thousand residents.
Right now 54% higher than the prior week and more than two and a half times the average recorder about two weeks ago according to data from John Hopkins University.
Health experts say the best defense against the virus is getting a vaccine. The latest numbers show 51.7% of Texans are fully vaccinated, that's above the national average of 49%. Here in Nueces county, we're below both averages at 48.2%.
"If you're somebody who's fully vaccinated, take a little breathe here and you're still really well protected by this vaccine," says Dr. Fracis Collins, Natational Institutes of Health Director.
The Texas Department of State Health Services says 99.5% of people who died recently due to COVID-19 in the state were unvaccinated.
